Everyone, including Teddy Bridgewater, knew the Carolina Panthers were thirsty for a quarterback. Who that quarterback and how they would acquire him has been the focus for a while now. News leaking that Carolina made a strong play for Matt Stafford, only to be outbid by the LA Rams, showed the Panthers were serious about upgrading their signal-caller. Carolina was then linked to rumors of Desean Watson, which quickly cramped up like a charlie-horse in need of massage when allegations of sexual misconduct by the Houston quarterback grew into a monstrous unknown both legally and in regards to his football future. That left fans to debating whether Carolina needed to secure a franchise through the NFL Draft. The debate was hot among Panthers fans and grew to incendiary levels as San Francisco moved mountains to secure the #3 overall pick. Sam Darnold lingered in the background, and when Carolina traded for the former 1st-round pick, Carolina lessened the pressure riding on this year’s draft, and as GM Scott Fitterer described, “puts us in a position to make the right football decision for this team moving forward."

Sure, there will be people who contend that the three picks, a 6th this year and a 2nd and 4th next year, were too high of a price to pay for a quarterback who was clearly on the outs. Equally as many would have bemoaned Carolina mortgaging their draft future for Cincinnati’s 5th pick, all in hoping Atlanta would let Fields or Lance slip. As it became more apparent that Carolina had soured on Bridgewater but was hesitant in betting the farm on a rookie quarterback, they hedged their bets on a player with a good draft pedigree in an impossible situation. Darnold wasn’t free, but the potential payoff was worth it. Entering his fourth NFL season, Carolina can utilize Darnold’s 5th-year option, giving them a two-year window to figure out his future with the organization.

Would I have been happy if Carolina had sacrificed less draft capital for Darnold? Sure, I wish it was a third instead of a second, but bringing in Darnold gives Carolina valuable flexibility in the draft that they didn’t have before this acquisition. General Manager Scott Fitterer defended, "It doesn't take us out of taking a quarterback, it doesn't take us out of taking any position. What we wanted to do going into this draft, through free agency, through this trade with Sam, was to just get rid of all the needs we have. We wanted to get to a place where the roster was in a good spot, and we could take the best available player at number eight.”

Acquiring Darnold takes a lot of pressure off Carolina while mitigating the problems that have emerged with Bridgewater. Carolina didn’t shed Bridgewater’s cost, but they may have consolidated that debt into a reasonably financed option that gives them the ability to pick the best player available at #8 or even trade back if the opportunity arises.

By Tony Dunn, host of the C3 Panthers Podcast
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