With the NFL preseason quickly approaching, the Carolina Panthers seem to still have Sam Darnold as a potential starting quarterback.
However, it’s not the situation they want for their franchise.
Carolina has made it known during 2022 that they cannot depend on Darnold as their starting QB.
The team was reportedly talking with multiple other teams to get a quarterback to replace their current starter.
But those trade talks with both the Houston Texans and Cleveland Browns went nowhere.
The Texans deal was off the table after the Browns got Deshaun Watson, the first quarterback the Panthers went after.
However, after that deal couldn’t happen, they would start talks with Cleveland, attempting to get Baker Mayfield from them.
There's "urgency" from Panthers' side to trade for Baker Mayfield soon so he can play in minicamp, per @jjones9
Mayfield's salary and how much teams will pay remains an issue pic.twitter.com/ZuYK2TSQVU
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 14, 2022
But as the deal for Mayfield has gone nowhere over the past couple months, the team will now depend on Darnold when opening day comes.
The Darnold Trade In 2021 Hurt Carolina
Looking back, the trade for Darnold hurt the Panthers’ chance to draft new talent in 2022.
Carolina gave up two 2022 draft picks for him, a second and fourth-round pick.
That trade also cost them a 2021 late sixth-round pick as well.
One of those draft picks was used by the New York Jets to select Max Mitchell, an offensive lineman the Panthers could have gotten had they kept their picks.
With 2022 also being a draft class lacking superstar college QBs, the Panthers still got a quarterback in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Had the Panthers had any other quarterback besides Darnold, they might not have gotten a quarterback this year.
However, with the pick of Matt Corral, the team at least has someone who can replace Darnold this season.
Matt Corral was my QB2 for most of the draft process, but he was the fourth QB off the board. The Carolina Panthers needed a QB to either compete with OR replace Sam Darnold, and, fortunately for Carolina, Corral fell to the third.
— The Whistleblower Sports (@WBSportsBlog) May 6, 2022
But even with the draft pick of Corral, they still are reportedly talking with Cleveland for Mayfield.
This whole situation shows how messed up the trade in 2021 turned out for Carolina.
Darnold’s Issues Started After Losing Christian McCaffrey
Darnold wasn’t bad during his first three games with Carolina.
However, this was because the team had Christian McCaffrey and two easy teams to start the season.
After starting three games with three touchdowns, one interception, and six sacks against him, his play would decline.
Most of this was because McCaffrey got injured during their third game of the season.
From there, defenses had their sights set on sacking Darnold, which they did plenty of times.
He would suffer 29 more sacks times over the next nine games he was in.
Without that threat of a star running back to keep pressure off him, his stats slowly declined.
He also suffered an injury that sidelined him for five games.
Had McCaffrey been in the backfield, maybe Darnold doesn’t suffer that collarbone injury.
However, while we can’t say his absence led to that injury, we can say it caused Darnold’s numbers to suffer.
The team won more games with Darnold and McCaffrey together than they lost.
If Carolina wants to depend on Darnold, they need a healthy McCaffrey to help him.
NEXT: Luke Kuechly Has A Prominent New Role With The Panthers