Sam Darnold Faces Career Defining Era with the Panthers

Former Jets quarterback Sam Darnold has a clean slate with the Carolina Panthers, according to head coach Matt Rhule.

Sam Darnold was traded to the Panthers after an unsuccessful spell with the New York Jets. The Jets drafted him with the third pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.

It’s a pivotal point in Darnold’s career. He now enters the category of quarterbacks who went high in the draft but struggled to make an impact. Sam Darnold needs to perform well in Carolina to live up to his potential.

Rhule said he intends to build a team around Darnold, and his past will have nothing to do with it.

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“I look at every player on an individual basis,” Matt Rhule said. 

“Sam or any other player’s lack of success has nothing to do with what’s happened to other people in similar situations.

“It comes down to him, comes down to the work he puts in, the situation we have here. We believe in Sam, we believe in his skill set. We believe in his approach.”

Darnold didn’t suddenly become a bad quarterback. He did, however, play in a poor Jets team with a poor coach in Adam Gase.

“You see his arm talent,” Rhule said.

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“I don’t think there’s a game you watch where he doesn’t make a play that makes you say, ‘There it is.’ He can fit the ball into tight windows and create with his feet. He moves around a ton. He extends plays with his legs.

“His arm talent and movement are a great fit for the players we have here that he’ll be playing with.

“We brought Sam in because we think he can play at a high level,” Rhule added. 

“Don’t take things that happen in other places and hold them to fast and hard truth.”