Is Matt Rhule mortgaging his own future on Sam Darnold?

Is Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule mortgaging his own future on quarterback Sam Darnold?

It didn’t take long for Matt Rhule to install Sam Darnold as the starter under center. The head coach confirmed the news during his Wednesday presser, meaning Cam Newton will be watching from the sidelines when the Carolina Panthers travel to the New Orleans Saints in Week 17.

This was not surprising.

But to many, it was very disappointing.

To say Darnold‘s time with the Panthers has been underwhelming would be an understatement. The former USC star began the 2021 campaign well enough en route to a 3-0 start, but things took a disastrous turn for the worse immediately after running back Christian McCaffrey went out through injury once again.

With just two touchdowns compared to eight interceptions since Week 4, it’s not hard to see why fans have become so disillusioned with Darnold overall. Couple this with the intense loyalty towards Newton and this decision could result in some pretty substantial ramifications where Rhule is concerned.

Newton was in a reflective mood during his post-game presser after Carolina’s defeat to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Talking in past tense is not something normally associated with the Auburn product, indicating he knew exactly what was coming this week.

Sam Darnold taking things one week at a time.

As for Darnold, he is focusing on what he can control and the Panthers have given him one last shot to convince those in power to start him once again in 2022.

"“If I look past this game at all, I would be doing this team and myself a disservice by looking too far in the future. I don’t want to do that. I want to put my best football forward for this team so that we can go out and win this Sunday. If I go out and start to worry about what these next couple of games mean and what the implications are for next year, that does nothing for me on Sunday.”"

Rhule has hitched his wagon to Darnold, for good or bad.

But there is the very real possibility he’s mortgaged his own future on the quarterback.

The former Baylor man gets the final say on personnel decisions and was clearly the driving force in acquiring Darnold from the New York Jets. Things just haven’t panned out as all parties had hoped and a revolving door at the most important position on the field has resulted in almost no progression in 2021.

Rhule’s job appears safe, according to recent reports from Joe Person of The Athletic and Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports. However, team owner David Tepper will be watching the next two games very closely before coming to a formal conclusion.

Carolina activated Darnold’s fifth-year option before he’d played a snap. Given the unlikelihood of any team wanting to take on his contract via trade, Rhule and the team may have no choice other than to keep the player around.

A problem they created for themselves.

Yet another mishap that could have been avoided.

Bringing Newton back was a business move, seemingly. One last Hail Mary in pursuit of galvanizing a fanbase that appeared on the brink and keeping the team in playoff contention.

Rhule is a man under pressure. There’s no getting away from that and although he claimed his current process is “1,000 percent” working after their 10th loss of the season, performances dictate that’s simply not the case.

Whether Darnold can miraculously turn things around against the Saints is highly debatable. Especially when one considers how poor the offensive line has been during the campaign.

If he fails to produce the goods or doesn’t show any signs of growth, then the chop might fall on Rhule after all.