What are some reasons that Sam Darnold should not start for the Carolina Panthers in 2022 despite the team picking up his option?
A torrid 2021 NFL season has finally ended for the Carolina Panthers. After a 3-0 start and dreams of a winning record were quickly dashed, Carolina went 2-12 and currently looks like the worst coached and most disorganized team in the NFL.
Sam Darnold, who to not many people’s surprise endured a dismal season after flashing in the 3-0 start, reverted quickly to the mess we saw when he was a member of the New York Jets. The quarterback ended the campaign with 12 total touchdowns and 20 turnovers in 11 games played.
For comparison, Cam Newton ended the season with nine total touchdowns and eight turnovers in just seven games following his bombshell return before Week 10 at the Arizona Cardinals.
Head coach Matt Rhule heads into his famous third year with a 10-23 record and a lot of work is needed. With a tough schedule ahead in 2022, it’s tough to see the former Baylor man steering this floundering ship around.
Hitching his wagon to Darnold, giving up three draft picks to the Jets, was a gamble that didn’t pay off. Picking up his fifth-year option without getting a chance to evaluate his production in a different environment was even worse.
With this in mind, here are four reasons why Darnold shouldn’t be starting under center for Carolina in 2022.
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.
Carolina Panthers coaching staff does not trust Sam Darnold
Despite what we’ve seen and heard from the Carolina Panthers coaching staff in the media over the season, this staff simply does not trust Sam Darnold and the play-calling shows that.
We saw in Week 17 at the New Orleans Saints when Darnold did not attempt a pass over 10 yards and ended the game with 132 passing yards on 17 completions with an average of just seven yards.
Fans have witnessed throughout the season that this offense has been made simple in order to protect Darnold’s flaws and attempt to mask them. Despite this, the former New York Jet still ended the season on 20 total turnovers.
So much was made in the preseason about the arm strength of Darnold and how the Panthers were moving on from the check-downs of Teddy Bridgewater, who ended the 2020 season with 20 total touchdowns and just eight turnovers in 14 games played in comparison.
And yet throughout the campaign, we’ve seen a handful of completed plays from Darnold which showcased this arm talent and one of them was in Week 1 against his former team.
With so much on the line for Matt Rhule in 2022, it seems unlikely that the head coach will continue with Darnold in 2022. However, with some of the strange decisions we’ve seen from him in his two years so far, nothing should come as a shock.
Sam Darnold is not respected
Again, despite what we’ve seen in the media, it’s clear to see Sam Darnold does not command the respect of his teammates or the opposition he comes up against.
Ironically, it was Robby Anderson who recently defended Darnold after he was seemingly booed by fans after being inserted into the Week 16 home game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, this is the same player who was seen angrily shouting at his former New York Jets teammate after the signal-caller threw his third pick during a defeat to the New England Patriots.
It’s clear to see from the shift we saw when Carolina re-signed Cam Newton just how this team feels about Darnold. Anderson – who for the majority of the season has cut a forlorn figure – was seen smiling and even taking selfies in press conferences after the Week 10 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
Not only this, but it’s hard not to see how any team going up against the Carolina Panthers doesn’t get a massive confidence boost knowing Darnold is under center and turnover opportunities will no doubt be plentiful. Something that puts the organization on the back foot right from the start.
We also saw the most complete performance from this Panthers team in the aftermath of the Newton signing as they blew away the fifth-seed Cardinals on the road to win 34-10. Although this was the final time Carolina celebrated a victory in 2021.
Sam Darnold is not feared
This has unfortunately been a constant throughout Sam Darnold’s NFL career. He just does not scare the opposition enough.
One feels an element of sympathy for the player as a lot of blame should fall on the staff who essentially gave him the keys to the Carolina Panthers without playing a snap. However, Darnold is set to make $18.85 million in 2022, so it’s hard to get too much into feelings.
A fine example of this came in Week 5 against the Philadelphia Eagles. Steven Nelson spoke post-game and claimed he knew the route Robby Anderson would run, allowing him to sit on the route and pick off Darnold.
During his time with the New York Jets, we saw Darnold “see ghosts” courtesy of Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. So this is nothing new.
Scheming against Darnold is unfortunately too simple. Put some form of pressure on him and those happy feet quickly come in the pocket and couple this with the worst offensive line in the league, this is a recipe for complete failure.
With the strength of coaches facing Carolina in 2022, it’s hard to see the Panthers winning more than the five games they managed to accomplish this season. If that’s the case, Matt Rhule will not be returning for his fourth year.