4 reasons Sam Darnold should not be Carolina Panthers QB in 2022
By Luke Gray
Sam Darnold is just not very good
This is pretty obvious, but Sam Darnold frankly does not have the skillset to be a starter. This is in spite of the player flashing on a small number of occasions such as the Week 18 touchdown pass to Robby Anderson at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
However, the issue is those moments are severely outweighed by the lack of poise and calmness the player shows. It’s no secret that the Carolina Panthers offensive line is bad, and the chances are not many signal-callers in the league would succeed playing behind it – but the former USC man still isn’t up to standard.
We saw in the season finale how quickly Darnold’s game can switch. Through three quarters, the signal-caller had been solid if not spectacular in keeping the Panthers somewhat close against the Buccaneers – then in the space of three drives we see a fumble, a turnover on downs, and finally an interception.
Turnovers are simply what has epitomized Darnold’s career so far.
The chances are Darnold will be on the roster next season. No sane team is taking on his fully guaranteed $18.85 million contract.
Joe Person of The Athletic reported similarly to the end of the 2020 season. Carolina was not sold on moving forward with Darnold as the starter as they were with Teddy Bridgewater 12 months ago.