In Matt Rhule's second year as Carolina Panthers head coach, he traded for embattled quarterback Sam Darnold in hopes of not only finding a diamond in the rough but their long-term starting quarterback.
As expected, it didn't work out. Coaching and impatience for much of Darnold's first five years led him down a path of being an all-time draft bust. Or so it seemed.
Today, Rhule is back to coaching in college. Then-general manager Scott Fitterer is in the Washington Commanders' front office. Darnold is a Super Bowl champion.
Yes, you heard that right...
Carolina Panthers swung and missed with Sam Darnold, but his redemption story is now complete
Darnold helped lead the Seattle Seahawks to their first Vince Lombardi Trophy since 2013, completing one of the all-time great comeback stories in sports. It is a long time coming for the journeyman signal-caller, who has now found his home in Seattle.
The former USC standout was an unfortunate victim of the coaching staff's incompetence and of David Tepper's decision-making from high above. Carolina's billionaire owner had to wade through years of poor decisions by head coaches and general managers before finding two individuals, Dave Canales and Dan Morgan, who have put the Panthers on an upward trajectory for the first time in years.
At the time of the trade, some were hopeful that a change of scenery could help Darnold, especially then-offensive coordinator Joe Brady and a solid group of pass-catchers. Yet, the pieces just weren't there for him to thrive.
He did have some encouraging moments during Carolina's late-season playoff push in 2022 under interim head coach Steve Wilks, but it didn't matter either way. Darnold left for the San Francisco 49ers, where his career effectively improved.
Darnold was just one of many examples of the disgraceful early years of Tepper's tenure as an owner. It seems he has finally learned his lesson, but the No. 3 pick in 2018 should be considered a good failure because the Panthers should've never been the team to help him evolve as a player in the first place.
He needed time on the bench, learning from a great quarterback and coach, which should've happened with the New York Jets.
Kevin O'Connell and Mike Macdonald gave Darnold those chances as a starter when nobody else did. He always had the talent to be a great quarterback, but it just didn't click until this season, during this incredible run to Super Bowl LX.
Darnold didn't light up the scoreboard, completing just 19 of 38 passes for 202 yards and a touchdown, but he made plays from within and out of the pocket all night, better than the opposition, to lead Seattle to favorable positions on each scoring drive. Two weeks prior, he had the game of his life against the Los Angeles Rams to win the NFC Championship game.
This is another signal caller who has thrived outside of Carolina, alongside Baker Mayfield in Tampa Bay, who has enjoyed a new phase of his career as a franchise quarterback for the Buccaneers. Nothing is going to change what happened in the past in Carolina for those two quarterbacks, but now there seems to be hope that the current franchise signal-caller with the Panthers, Bryce Young, is the answer.
Darnold completed an all-time career comeback for the ages in any sport — movie-worthy content — that may paint the Panthers in a negative light, but at the end of the day, who cares?
The often-maligned quarterback is a Super Bowl champion, reminding fans of his second franchise that past failures can sometimes lead to better things in the future.