kungfoodude

Ooof. I feel your pain on that one. I agree, though. I would take Darnold last in that group at the moment and would take Winston over Trubisky. I think all three are fairly standard gunslinger that lean towards the "WTF" end of the decision making spectrum. At least Winston and Trubisky have some games where they are just clicking and torching people. Darnold doesn't really seem to have that. I think it's unfair to completely lay that on Gase and/or the Jets. Some of that is Darnold too.

Yeah and this was the same thing we heard last offseason but Teddy remained Teddy. Additionally, the success in college isn't something that should be a real point of reference anymore now that Brady has a full NFL season under his belt. We will see what happens but I am not too hopeful about Darnold. It would be nice to be wrong, I'll say that.

We are in a "win now" mode. It is pretty clear the way the franchise is operating that is the case. Why that is the case is a mystery to me, but it is what it is. I don't think the Stafford and Darnold deals are really even comparable. Stafford is an established and elite QB in the NFL and Darnold is just a first round bust on his journey towards being a career backup. The OT needs to be addressed but whether we attempt to do it remains to be seen. It has been many, many years since the Panthers prioritized the OL and this staff/front office seem to value it about the same as previous staffs have. I don't hate the Darnold deal because it will mainly cost us a potential future starter(2nd rounder) and a couple of potential depth guys, at worst. I don't like the Darnold deal because I don't think any amount of maturing or coaching is likely to fix what is wrong with him. I definitely am not going to be happy when we pick up his 5th year option. That will be a mistake.

Yeah, apparently we are a big payday for every future journeyman backup QB now.

Yeah, Stafford was the best option for us, IMO. Relatively cheap(compared to Watson) and a ready made product, no development needed. Unfortunately for us, LA wanted him more.

It certainly sounds good when you read it. But the league has a lot of young QB's that made immediate impacts and are now the elite players at the position. Darnold wasn't one of those guys. I suspect we are going to find out that a certain portion of Darnold just isn't going to be "fixed" by better/new coaching. Sort of like we found that out with Teddy. The league is littered with these reclamation projects. They are largely the journeyman backup QB's that we see year in and year out. So, while everyone can quote Brees or Tannehill....they are memorable for a reason, because they were part of the very few that worked out. My ultimate guess is that if we don't address QB at 8 in the draft, we are in the same position in the 2021 offseason. Needing to find a suitor for an overpriced backup QB as we continue our QB search.

You are starting a franchise and you have the choice between Mitch Trubisky, Sam Darnold and Jameis Winston. Which are you taking and why?

Stafford and Darnold aren't a good comparison. Stafford has been performing at a very high level for a very bad franchise. Darnold has performed very poorly for a very bad franchise.

The difference is that one is an elite QB and the other is one of the worst starting QB's in the NFL. I wouldn't normally put a high value on a 2nd rounder bit we also have a bottom 5 roster in the NFL, so those picks matter. That is unless Rhule and Fitterer are idiots and then I guess this is all for naught anyway.

It's kind of odd to be getting a jump on camp bodies.

I would say after the offseason so far, generally less excited than when we were heading into the offseason. The draft can change a lot. I am less excited due to the Darnold move and the early head scratching OL moves.

You obviously offer him Teddy, Greg Little and agree to throw in a 2023 2nd rounder or Rashaan Gaulden.

Not a bad gamble for a camp body.

Sounds like there is little chance Teddy lasts past June 1st.

He can't read, so maybe moving pictures will help.

I am genuinely curious, is there anyone here who didn't want Jameis Winston but is excited about Sam Darnold?

Yep. He didn't choose to pay him that money.

I am sure we are in the "untenable situation" portion of him being here, at this point. The dead cap sucks but we probably should have thought about that when we spent all this money on him last offseason. $20 mil is the just the dumb tax.

He is entitled to his opinion. I see more of the "damaged goods" and "inability to process information" aspects of Darnold than the "potential." It's no different than any other failed, talented prospect. After they have been a failure at their first stop, the teams that look at them and see that potential get less and less(rather dramatically, typically). Whereas each new QB class brings a fresh bunch of talented prospects, brimming with potential and none of the NFL failure. As a buddy of mine once said, "Potential just means you haven't done poo."

We are going from game manager to gunslinger but this is one of the statistically worst gunslingers in the NFL. I know people want to "ooh and ahh" over the potential of Darnold but we need to not be blind to the very real chance that he could be much worse than Teddy was. Teddy was bad in a maddening but ultimately semi-effective way. Darnold could be ACTUAL bad.

I am guessing the interest was largely bargain bin shopping by QB needy teams? It doesn't seem like the league really views Darnold as much more than a cheap reclamation project.

Well, it would have only been giving up 2(1 was just a straight swap so you still have a 1st). I definitely understand that. Stafford has some injury history, so you need to really be convinced he is healthy enough and WANTS to stick around until 40 to invest like that.

I would have him behind Lawrence, Wilson, Lance, Fields, Jones and Mond. I am pretty down on Darnold because I just don't think he can process information well enough to be a good NFL QB. I'd rather take a gamble on someone far less talented like Jones but that seems to be pretty quick with decision making. Darnold is a gunslinger without most of the good traits, and that is scary. Yeah, Teddy had his "career year" here but boy was it unimpressive. Similar to Teddy not being willing to take that next step, that's a concern for Darnold too. I am always skeptical of those guys that can't find a way to keep getting better without a lot of team help. I would still like a QB at 8 but building the secondary and ESPECIALLY the OL in this draft would make me very, very happy. Even if we can't get our franchise QB yet, at least fielding a halfway competitive team when we finally get one would be nice.

It came down to that extra 1st for Stafford, according to the reports. In hindsight, I kind of wish we had just pulled the trigger on that. But hindsight couldn't have told us the way all this ended up going down. I think we are going to find out how sure, safe and cheap it is. My big fear is that Darnold proves to be less sure, safe and cheap than a journeyman backup from the free agent pile would have been. That is my big fear. For all his potential, his floor is really, really, REALLY low.