Ben McAdoo instantly regrets naming Sam Darnold the Panthers starting QB

Call him Ben McAd’oh.

On Monday, former Giants head coach and current Panthers offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo said in a press conference that Sam Darnold is Carolina’s starting quarterback.

But McAdoo quickly admitted he had spoken too soon.

“One of the things I’ve been working on is being better talking to you people,” said McAdoo, who was fired by the Giants after the 2017 season. “So, announcing the starting quarterback here, I just put my foot in my mouth. That wasn’t something I should have said.”

McAdoo further walked back his comment adding that Carolina coach Matt Rhule has a say over the quarterback decision — but “the way it is in the building right now, Sam is our starting quarterback.”

McAdoo, whom the Panthers hired in the offseason, went on to say that Darnold was partly the reason why he took the job with Carolina.

“Sam was one of the people that intrigued me to the job, to be honest with you. I think Sam does have some magic in his game. I think he’s got some athleticism to him,” he said. “I’m excited to work with Sam, and we’ve been working the last few days here to kinda get up to speed on the offense. And he’s shown flashes of being a good player in this league. And working together, hopefully we can get that to show up more consistently.”

Darnold, the third overall pick by the Jets in the 2018 draft, and P.J. Walker are the only quarterbacks under contract in Carolina for 2022. But that could change sooner than later, as the Panthers have the No. 6 pick in next week’s draft.

The Panthers have had a heavy presence around the quarterback Pro Day circuit, and were in attendance for Kenny Pickett (Pittsburgh), Malik Willis (Liberty) and Matt Corral’s (Ole Miss) workouts.

Carolina has been reported as a potential landing spot for Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield — who requested a trade out of Cleveland when the team pursued and later signed Deshaun Watson.