A member of the quarterback class of 2018 will begin his fourth season with a new franchise. Will Sam Darnold and the Carolina Panthers be good for each other?
Last offseason, the Carolina Panthers opted to give veteran quarterback Teddy Bridgewater a lucrative deal. He would be working with new head coach Matt Rhule and new offensive coordinator Joe Brady as the team looked to rebound from a disastrous 5-11 showing.
But the former first-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings had his struggles and simply didn’t live up to expectations. Hence this offseason, the franchise opted to swing a deal with the New York Jets to obtain the third overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Meanwhile, Bridgewater was sent to the Denver Broncos for a sixth-round pick this year (via Spotrac).
Sam Darnold’s three-year tenure with the New York Jets had its ups and downs. He played and started 38 games and missed 10 contests due to a variety of reasons. The knock on the former Southern Cal standout was his penchant for mistakes
Forget the win-loss record, which is really irrelevant when it comes to quarterbacks. He threw for a combined 8,097 yards and six more touchdown passes (45) than interceptions (39). There were also 20 fumbles and seven of those lost, giving Darnold more turnovers (46) than TD tosses.
"But current Panthers’ wideout and one-time Jets’ standout Robby Anderson, who played with the three-year pro for two years, has made some interesting observations. “I saw like a new energy out of him, a glowing charisma that I didn’t really see in New York,” explained Anderson (via Steve Reed of the Associated Press). “…You know when a person, you can see a glow in them, their energy, an aura – I can see that when I walked into the building and just being around him.”"
The Panthers are a combined 17-31 the past three seasons after reaching the playoffs four of the previous five years. The club has posted consecutive 5-11 showings but there were strides made during Rhule’s first season. Now Darnold takes over behind center with a chance to get his career and this franchise on a winning track.