4 reasons the Carolina Panthers must not trade for Jimmy Garoppolo
By Dean Jones
Carolina Panthers don’t need another reclamation project
There’s every chance Jimmy Garoppolo would be an upgrade on Sam Darnold. But the last thing anyone on the Carolina Panthers needs right now is betting their future on another reclamation project.
Although Garoppolo guided the San Francisco 49ers to the NFC Championship and has also played in a Super Bowl, it appears as if the signal-caller is a system quarterback rather than a player that can take over games by the scruff of the neck. That’s fine in a scheme like Kyle Shanahan’s, but it’s not hard to see why this might not translate to a different environment.
It’s easy to forget that Bill Belichick hand-picked Garoppolo to be Tom Brady’s successor on the New England Patriots before the legendary figure went to Robert Kraft to reportedly complain and get his protege shipped out of town. That won’t go unnoticed by other teams and considering what’s at stake for Matt Rhule in 2022, he needs instant help as Darnold is clearly not the answer.
Garoppolo is serviceable with everything around him being top-notch. Something the Panthers simply don’t have at the present time and if they ask him to do too much, that’s when mistakes will occur.
If Carolina hadn’t picked up Darnold’s fifth-year option with a guaranteed $18.85 million, this situation might be different. But from the outside looking in, trading for Garoppolo is another band-aid move when a long-term plan is needed.