Why Sam Darnold might be a work in progress for the Panthers in 2021
By Dean Jones
Sam Darnold needs time
Patience is not a virtue normally associated with NFL teams or fanbases. This is a what have you done for me lately league and in terms of supporters, they want instant success no matter what the reality actually is.
The Carolina Panthers haven’t had a winning season since 2017, so their fans are more starved than most. Cheering losing football is a chore more often than not, which piles even more in the way of pressure on Sam Darnold to hit the ground running following the trade.
There is a chance everything clicks into place right away.
The structure is there and the talent is evident. But Darnold is going to need to put everything that happened with the New York Jets at the back of his mind and almost use the 2021 season as another rookie campaign.
The former USC star made a strong start to OTAs, emerging as a leader and showing he wasn’t afraid to let his new teammates know when more was needed.
This is a solid platform from which to build. But expecting Darnold to be the second coming of Joe Montana in Year 1 with the Panthers is unrealistic.
Darnold has a tremendous opportunity to get some early wins on the board, starting against his old team in Week 1. If he can do this, then it should generate enough momentum to put up some quality numbers.
If things don’t start well, it’s not the end of the world.
Even if it will come with more questions than he’s ever faced before.