4 potential trade destinations for Sam Darnold in 2022
By Dean Jones
Which teams could be potential suitors if the Carolina Panthers decide to trade quarterback Sam Darnold during the offseason?
After an impressive start to life with the Carolina Panthers, things unraveled quickly for Sam Darnold. The quarterback regressed significantly from the moment Christian McCaffrey went down with a hamstring problem and his dismal showing in Week 9 against the New England Patriots might be the last time we see him under center.
Darnold is on the reserve/injured list and might be for the rest of the season. Couple this with Cam Newton’s sensational return and things look bleak at best regarding his long-term future.
The Panthers now have a problem on their hands with Darnold. One they brought on themselves by triggering his fifth-year option that comes with a guaranteed $18.85 million before he’d stepped foot onto the field.
Giving up three draft picks to the New York Jets was bad enough. But this is even worse and it’s going to take an incredible amount of maneuvering if Carolina decides to remove Darnold from the equation this offseason.
Carolina Panthers will find it difficult trading Sam Darnold this offseason.
One would think suitors would be slim. So the Panthers are going to have to eat the large majority of his salary in a similar fashion to what they did with Teddy Bridgewater one day before the 2021 NFL Draft when they shipped him to the Denver Broncos.
Another problem they’ll have is Darnold’s production, which makes it difficult to convince anybody he’s a viable starter. And teams won’t want a backup costing almost $19 million on their salary cap.
Difficult, but not impossible. Here are four teams that could become potential trade destinations for Darnold if the Panthers work a miracle.