Seriously though what the hell were they thinking picking up Darnold's 5th year option?

[Sean Payton's Vicodin]

2 minutes ago, Waldo said:

They really thought Sam was a great answer. That's the scary part, not pissing away 19 mil next year. It was a bad evaluation, a bad trade and a bad option pickup. We can eat dead cap like the best of them but the evaluation and how sure they were is terrifying. 

They will trade him to someone for a 2024 7th and eat 16 mil of that mistake. 

I have a hard time believing that no one in the room thought this wasn't a good idea. I think it's Rhule being in total control and being a dumbass and no one one in the building besides Tepper has the authority to say no to him.

[travisura]

5 minutes ago, SizzleBuzz said:

It was a ham-handed attempt to stroke Silver Platter Sam's fragile psyche...

...should taken the opposite path -- keep TB5, make Sam compete for the job, and only pick up the option if Sam proves out.  

This is the only reason I can think of. It was an attempt to make sure Sam knew he had the faith of the org and wouldn't play poorly due to his mental state. And we see how that turned out.

[jb2288]

So do we have any sort of out on the 5th year? 

[shaka]

fug it I'll play devil's advocate here.  Couple of things I can see making "sense"

 

• Out of cap hell in 2022 so 1 year for $18.9 million isn't the worst case scenario
• Commitment, trust, faith, confidence builder  
• if he worked out and reached his potential you have him cheap while working on long term deal (or franchise tag / sign and trade / etc.)
• If it doesn't work out, it still shows Carolina as a place not afraid take risks on projects (injury, poor performance or otherwise) which could have an impact on signing future free agents
• If it doesn't work out, it's easy to move on.  He's on the roster next year so there's some stability in the QB room even if he's not the starter and then he's easily cut and no one could blame the Panthers for cutting him given what he showed on the field 
• It may have been part of the trade?  IDK I'm grasping at straws here 

 

With those points being made, I think it was a poor decision that sucks for next year but it'll easily be history afterwards.  

[firefox1234]

3 minutes ago, Catsfan69 said:

Because you have to pick up the option before May 3. 

So 6 months ago was the deadline.

Okay. So in the rare chance he looks good you tag him. Washington Football Team did it to Cousins multiple times….

[Jackie Lee]

I mean you can't trade 3 draft picks for a one year rental, that would also look horrible. Whole thing was just a robbery from the start. I'm more bummed about the draft picks than the $

[Catsfan69]

Just now, firefox1234 said:

Okay. So in the rare chance he looks good you tag him. Washington Football Team did it to Cousins multiple times….

I get it. I guess they thought the gamble to sign him cheap was worth it.

[firefox1234]

Just now, Catsfan69 said:

I get it. I guess they thought the gamble to sign him cheap was worth it.

True but as someone mentioned already it’s really the picks lost that’s a bummer cause we will probably only have a slightly better OL next year if not just as bad unless we get lucky…

[onmyown]

who cares? the panthers need to draft olineman. they aren’t really found in FA. the cap doesn’t affect that. the second and fourth rounders lost will still be fuging the panthers long after the cap clears.

especially if Fit keep trading down to recoup them and miss out on real talent. i have a feeling this is going to be an ongoing issue.

Edited November 12, 2021 by onmyown

[Peon Awesome]

It's honestly not that tough to explain. If they were that worried Sam was going to be so bad they'd regret spending $18 million on him next year, they wouldn't have given up a 2nd, 4th, and 6th round pick for him. Maybe a conditional 3rd at most. You don't give up 3 picks for a 1 year rental that you're going to be obligated into an expensive multiyear deal if he ends up working out.

So it all comes down to their initial evaluation. They thought they could turn him at least into a serviceable starter with the upside of potentially being a franchise qb, in which case, 2 years, $23 million and a 2nd round pick is a pittance. Wish it had turned out that way but that had to be the thought process.

[Pimpdaddy]

...they being generous with Teps cash...

[firefox1234]

1 minute ago, Peon Awesome said:

It's honestly not that tough to explain. If they were that worried Sam was going to be so bad they'd regret spending $18 million on him next year, they wouldn't have given up a 2nd, 4th, and 6th round pick for him. Maybe a conditional 3rd at most. You don't give up 3 picks for a 1 year rental that you're going to be obligated into an expensive multiyear deal if he ends up working out.

So it all comes down to their initial evaluation. They thought they could turn him at least into a serviceable starter with the upside of potentially being a franchise qb, in which case, 2 years, $23 million and a 2nd round pick is a pittance. Wish it had turned out that way but that had to be the thought process.

But then what explains the lack of OL investment if they believe in Sam. It was clear that is what let him down the most in NY, why didn’t we try to make things different for a guy we evaluated.

[Waldo]

14 minutes ago, Sean Payton's Vicodin said:

I have a hard time believing that no one in the room thought this wasn't a good idea. I think it's Rhule being in total control and being a dumbass and no one one in the building besides Tepper has the authority to say no to him.

I hope you are right, they need to step forward next time.

[Reason]

18 minutes ago, Jackie Lee said:

I mean you can't trade 3 draft picks for a one year rental, that would also look horrible. Whole thing was just a robbery from the start. I'm more bummed about the draft picks than the $

Yea they got bit by the sunk cost fallacy. Throwing good money after bad.