Carolina Panthers trade for Jets quarterback Sam Darnold
The Carolina Panthers have traded for quarterback Sam Darnold. The team sent a 2021 sixth-round pick, a 2022 second-round pick and a 2022 fourth-round pick to the New York Jets in exchange for the quarterback.
The sixth-round pick is No. 226, the last of Carolina’s picks in this year’s draft; The team still has seven picks to work with in 2021. General manager Scott Fitterer said that it was important to the team to keep its first three picks in this year’s draft.
“Sam is a guy, going back to when he was coming out at USC, a guy that I really liked,” Fitter said. “... (I) liked his toughness, his ability to move in the pocket. He can make big plays down the field with his arm. All those things really stood out about him. I just think in this offense with Joe Brady, with Matt Rhule, the weapons we have around him, that he can take that next step with us. And so, just kind of looking overall, where we were at with the draft position we’re in, I was really excited to add someone of Sam’s caliber to our team.”
Talks surrounding the trade first heated up at Ohio State’s pro day last Tuesday with Jets general manager Joe Douglas and Fitterrer having an on-field discussion about the potential move. Things continued to progress over the last couple of days.
The Panthers have been searching for an answer at quarterback after a mixed season in 2020 by Teddy Bridgewater, whom the team signed to a three-year, $63 million deal last offseason that is easy to get out of in 2022. Fitterer did speak with both Bridgewater and his agent prior to the Darnold deal being formalized.
Some teams had expressed initial interest in trading for the quarterback earlier in the offseason, and it is unlikely he remains on the roster for the $22.9 million he is expected to count against the cap this season.
If the Panthers were forced to release Bridgewater, the lowest he could cost against this year’s cap is $15 million — if he is a post-June 1 designation. The other quarterbacks on the roster include P.J. Walker, Will Grier and Tommy Stevens.
In the circumstance of a trade, Bridgewater would count $10 million in dead cap for the Panthers this year if it takes place before June 1 and only $5 million if it takes place after June 1, per Over the Cap.
“We’re going to find the right place, whether it’s here, wherever it may be (for Bridgewater),” Fitterer said. “We’ll figure things out, and contract-wise, as well.”
The Jets selected Darnold, 23, third overall in the 2018 NFL draft. The team traded up from the No. 6 pick, and sent three second-round pick to the Indianapolis Colts in the process, to grab the quarterback out of USC. He has gone 13-25 as a starter for the Jets over the past three seasons, and has one year remaining on his contract, as is.
The team will have until May 3 to decide whether or not to pick up Darnold’s fifth-year option, which would cost about $18 million in 2022. The Panthers are planning to discuss the matter with his agents, per a league source. It would be a surprise if it is not picked up.
In his career, Darnold has completed 59.8% of his passes for 8,097 yards, 45 touchdowns and 39 interceptions. He has been sacked 98 times. In 2018, he became the youngest quarterback to start an NFL game since the merger in 1970 at age 21. Over the last three years the Jets offense has ranked last in passing yards per game (284), passing first downs (465) and completion percentage (59.2%).
Part of Brady’s offense that could benefit Darnold is getting the ball out quickly. Per NFL Next Gen Stats, he was the most pressured quarterback in the NFL last season (48.9%). Bridgewater had an average of 2.6 seconds to throw last year, while Darnold had 2.85.
“I think he moves well in the pocket. He’s not like a runner, like you would picture, but he’s a person that can slide and climb in the pocket,” Fitterer said. “I think he sees the field, he can push the ball downfield, when he does take off, he does have speed as a runner. I think he can make throws at all levels, I’ve seen that going back to college, you can see glimpses of that in the NFL.”
Darnold will be reunited on the Panthers with former Jets wide receiver Robby Anderson. In his career, Darnold has thrown the most touchdown passes to Anderson (11).
The Panthers were also extremely interested in trading for quarterback Deshaun Watson. However, recent sexual assault allegations against Watson have presented a hurdle for league-wide interest in the Houston Texans’ star. Team owner David Tepper had been particularly interested in the quarterback.
Carolina holds the No. 8 pick in the 2021 NFL draft, with as many as four quarterbacks expected to be selected prior to that pick. The Panthers felt that the quarterback options that were likely still available for the team at that pick were not worth picking at that spot.
The team was also involved in trade conversations for new Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford at the beginning of the offseason.
This story was originally published April 5, 2021 at 4:05 PM.
