INDIANAPOLIS — The Panthers have enough questions surrounding the quarterback position that we probably shouldn’t go looking to unearth more.
But with Sam Darnold in team-issued athleisure for the entirety of Sunday’s preseason opener against the Colts, the Panthers’ fan base had three hours to dissect the backup quarterback competition, at least when the TV reception held up.
Advertisem*nt
What they saw in the 21-18 loss was some good, some bad and some boring. And you came away thinking if you could somehow combine P.J. Walker and Will Grier’s best traits, you might have something.
Walker, the former Temple quarterback, ran around, extended plays and played his unique brand of fun, wide-open quarterbacking that seems well suited for the preseason, but less so the regular season. The friends-and-family crowd at Lucas Oil Stadium — which had its top down on a pleasant day — remembers Walker from the couple of preseasons he spent with the Colts, playing the same carefree style he did Sunday.
With the rest of the first-teamers joining Darnold on the sideline, Walker started and led scoring drives on four of his six possessions. He had two three-and-outs, though one produced a field goal on a short field after a defensive takeaway.
With the Colts resting nine of their defensive starters, Walker had a solid statistical day — 10-of-21 passing for 161 yards and a touchdown, with no interceptions. He’s a different quarterback from the kid who was with the Colts for parts of three seasons without ever playing in a regular-season game.
“I felt like when I was here, I didn’t have as much fun playing football. I was always thinking. I’m not thinking as much no more,” Walker said. “I’m just going out there playing … and trying to get the ball in the playmakers’ hands.”
Walker’s lone touchdown was pure P.J. — coming on a play just before halftime when he wasn’t supposed to snap the ball. Panthers coach Matt Rhule wanted Walker to try to get the Colts to jump offsides. If they didn’t, Walker would let the clock run to the two-minute warning.
Walker didn’t get the message, saying: “I heard a whole bunch of different things in my headset and I heard (Rhule) on the sideline yelling.”
Advertisem*nt
So Walker does what he does best: winged it. He rolled right, threw a laser into the end zone for a 7-yard score to Touchdown Tommy Tremble. It was a sweet play … except he ignored Rhule’s edict to not throw back against his body, and his intended target was Omar Bayless, not the guy who caught it.
“It worked,” Walker said. “Tommy was just running full speed across the field. He’s the one that happened to get hit in the chest with the ball.”
Just like no one drew it up.
Said Rhule: “He called the wrong play, ran around and found a way to make a play.”
Rhule actually wanted Walker to run around a little more Sunday, including a second-quarter play when Walker tried to thread a pass to Terrace Marshall Jr. when he had a clear running lane for a first down, and maybe a touchdown.
Walker ended up with no rushing attempts but made a couple of nice scramble plays when he threw on the run. The prettiest was a 60-yard connection to Marshall, the former LSU wideout who got walked down at the Colts’ 15. The Panthers settled for one of four field goals from Joey Slye, who missed a 63-yard try and a 43-yard field goal.
“P.J.’s got a cannon arm,” Marshall said. “Very bright future for him at QB.”
Grier has his own history in Indy, where he made his first NFL start in 2019. It was one to forget: He tossed three interceptions, was sacked five times and finished with a passer rating of 46.0 in a 38-6 defeat.
“I did get some flashbacks,” Grier said, smiling. “The vibes were definitely better today than 2019, just in general.”
Grier was 5-of-9 passing for just 33 yards on five series. But the Panthers didn’t exactly set up Grier for success. He played with the third-team line and receivers and spent a good chunk of his five series handing the ball to former UAB running back Spencer Brown. (Grier played six possessions, although the last one consisted of one play — an ugly hook-and-lateral as time expired.)
Advertisem*nt
“I thought Will played well,” Rhule said. “He didn’t quite have as many opportunities, but we know there’s three preseason games.”
Rhule said offensive play caller Joe Brady was more run-heavy with Grier because the Panthers were trying to protect the lead. They would have been better served letting Grier air it out as they try to decide who’s their best option behind Darnold.
“Those things aren’t up to me. I’m running the play they call in,” Grier said. “I think I did a good job executing the play that was called. They did a good job at the end of the game — the (Colts) long drive and they kicked a field goal and didn’t leave any time. Sometimes that’s the way the game works out.”
Rhule has been noncommittal about his quarterback plans for the last two preseason games, other than to say Darnold will definitely play the third one against Pittsburgh. Rhule also has declined to say whether Grier would get a chance to play with the second-team offense in his next game (he should) and whether the Panthers will keep two or three quarterbacks.
Of course, the Panthers also could bring in a veteran quarterback. That would mean signing someone like 42-year-old Josh McCown, trading for Nick Foles or waiting until roster cutdowns in two weeks to see who might be available.
The backup quarterback discussion makes for good fodder in mid-August when the starters aren’t playing. But the Panthers have a bigger issue at the position, namely figuring out what they have in Darnold.
Related: The Jets will be in Charlotte in four weeks.
(Photo: Trevor Ruszkowski / USA Today)
Joe Person is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Carolina Panthers. He has covered the team since 2010, previously for the Charlotte Observer. A native of Williamsport, Pa., Joe is a graduate of William & Mary, known for producing presidents and NFL head coaches. Follow Joseph on Twitter @josephperson
