FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Panthers gave most of the work in joint practices this week to quarterbacks Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold, so they're going to provide the rest of the room a chance tonight.

And they're going to mix it up a bit, to give PJ Walker and Matt Corral an opportunity to work on more equal footing.

Walker will play the first and the third quarters tonight against the Patriots at Gillette Stadium, and Corral will play the second and fourth quarters.

Panthers head coach Matt Rhule said that offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo wanted to give them a chance to see what the backup role is like during the regular season.

"It's two things; we want to see them both with the same groups, as best we can, so they both have the same set of receivers, and there's a consistency there," Rhule said. "And then we see them with the third group, so there's some consistency there.

"Then the second part, and this was coach McAdoo's idea, and his perspective, as a backup quarterback, you have to be ready to go in the game at a moment's notice, and you have to be able to excel and play well without having much of a chance to warm up. This is our way of simulating that for them, where they have to warm up and get cooled down and go in there and be hot; that's how I see it."

McAdoo said the challenge for both Walker and Corral would be to play well when they're on the field, of course, but also stay engaged through the whole game from a mental and physical perspective.

"They don't have time to get ready; they have to stay ready through the course of the game. And this is a way to test them on that," McAdoo said. "They obviously have to see the game as it unfolds, they have to play the game on the sideline, they have to keep their legs loose and their arms loose throughout the course of the game, so they'll have to do that in the game."

Walker got more reps in the first preseason game, with Corral, this year's third-round pick, coming in for the fourth quarter.