Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold avoided a season-ending injury on Friday night, but is set to miss significant time after injuring his ankle. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Darnold is expected to miss four to six weeks after suffering a sprained ankle against the Bills. He will get a second opinion before starting the road back to action. There were fears of a more serious injury when Darnold had to be carted off the field, but both the initial diagnosis and Saturday’s MRI were more positive. The injury will continue to force the Panthers to change plans at the quarterback spot. With rookie Matt Corral out for the year with a Lisfranc injury, the Panthers were expected to keep Darnold as Baker Mayfield’s only backup. The timeline for his recovery points to a stint on injured reserve to start the year, and that will likely give PJ Walker a chance to stick around. Darnold would have to be on the starting 53-man roster to be able to return, so that would force the team to cut a player it may have planned to keep until Friday night.
