3 reasons the Carolina Panthers must keep Sam Darnold in 2022

Carolina Panthers QBs are in a similar conversation

Baker Mayfield has a lone playoff win with a better roster around him on the Cleveland Browns. Far better than Sam Darnold has ever benefitted from.

If we are being objective here, neither quarterback has proven anything with their first teams each giving up on them and searching for better options.

While I do believe Mayfield is a far superior leader and quarterback that will prove himself a franchise player, he has accomplished little more than Darnold. Add in the fact that Matt Rhule is leading this team and the Carolina Panthers should keep both signal-callers on the roster as potential starters.

Darnold had great moments with the New York Jets. The former USC stud has the ability, it is just whether or not he will ever put it all together.

While his chance to do that in Carolina appears to be over, the Panthers keeping him as an emergency option behind Mayfield is all upside given the short timeframe to get anything better before the regular season.

Simply put, it is hard to find a single player on the market who would be a better option from the bench.

Until Mayfield establishes himself as a franchise quarterback, the Panthers need to have a backup plan. One that is boring but has a high ceiling for a No. 2 – which perfectly describes Darnold.