What It Means:

Baker Mayfield will start in place of Walker and Sam Darnold will be the backup. Wilks said Walker doesn't have a timeline to return, but that the Panthers aren't planning on placing him on injured reserve either. Walker helped the team pick up a victory over the Atlanta Falcons last Thursday with 10-of-16 completions for 108 scoreless and turnover-free yards. Considering how poorly Mayfield played to start the season, his return is probably a downgrade for D.J. Moore and Terrace Marshall. The Panthers will likely try to lean on the running game more with D'Onta Foreman and Chuba Hubbard, at least as much as the game script allows.

Among the 38 quarterbacks with at least 90 drop backs this season, Walker is second-worst (negative-0.12) and Mayfield is seventh-worst (negative-0.07) in Passing Net Expected Points per attempt. However, Moore averaged 7.6 FanDuel points per game with Mayfield as a starter, compared to 10.2 with Walker.