Carolina would be wise to release Sam Darnold before it impedes Matt Corral's development

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ESPN’s David Newton reports that the Carolina Panthers do not intend to release Sam Darnold despite trading for Baker Mayfield. Carolina suggests there will be a quarterback competition, but all signs point towards Mayfield taking over. There also appears little interest around the league in acquiring Darnold. Will there be an actual training camp competition for the starting job between Mayfield and Darnold? Is it wise that Carolina keeps Darnold around? Despite owing 18 million in guaranteed money, Carolina should release Darnold before training camp to create a more defined vision at the quarterback position and to make sure that rookie quarterback Matt Corral’s development isn’t slowed by failed past decisions.

The quarterback room is crowded in Carolina. Adding Mayfield makes for five current players on the roster, and only three of them matter: Baker Mayfield, rookie Matt Corral, and Sam Darnold. Because Carolina didn’t give much up to acquire Mayfield, they don’t necessarily have to dump Darnold. Keeping him, however, makes for an awkward room and potentially muddies the waters on Corral’s future with the team. Dumping Darnold would make for an 18 million dollar egg on the face by conceding failure, but this isn’t the time for sunk costs to pile onto the failed experiment. Carolina may see Darnold’s value as having a backup with NFL experience if Mayfield suffers injury or fails to be the slightest of upgrades. Holding the clipboard may just be Darnold’s future habitat in the NFL anyway.

Keeping Darnold around brings about problems also. Beyond awkward daily meetings and questions that will inevitably be asked by the press, Darnold would likely take away valuable reps from Matt Corral in training camp, the preseason, and throughout regular-season practices. Darnold’s NFL experience would probably make him the most logical backup, and if the Panthers were to put on the appearance of a quarterback competition, they would have to split reps between three players, making Corral a true longshot to entrench himself as the backup or even as the starter.

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Those who protested trading for Mayfield feared Carolina would again spend valuable assets for a quarterback that other teams didn’t want and that his presence would interfere with Corral’s development. Instead, the trade cost virtually nothing, and the Browns even picked up most of Mayfield’s salary. Corral’s future, however, does become more uncertain if Mayfield demonstrates enough success to save Matt Rhule’s job or cause Carolina to flirt with offering an extension or the franchise tag in 2023. Hence, why keeping Darnold is unwise. Mayfield may be a temporary savior, but the odds of his future in Carolina are long. His play will determine his future and Matt Rhule's, but Sam Darnold’s presence on the roster threatens Matt Corral’s future. If Mayfield were to work out with Darnold as his backup, it will mean that Carolina won’t get many opportunities to see Corral’s development this season. If Mayfield doesn’t work out, Rhule will likely lose his job and probably won’t matter because a new coach won’t likely want to start his new tenure with an unknown 3rd-round rookie.

If you are hoping Matt Corral is the future, you should hope that Carolina decides to release Sam Darnold. You’ll probably want Mayfield to have enough success that Rhule gets another year and sees enough in the meantime to believe that Corral should be his future replacement.

By Tony Dunn

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