How the trade came about

[Mr. Scot]

Via Albert Breer (MAQB)

The Panthers/Jets trade may have seemed to have come out of nowhere—but the truth is the teams had been chipping away at it for quite some time. Carolina first broached the topic of a deal for Sam Darnold with the Jets in mid-February, a couple weeks after a very strong bid for Matthew Stafford fell through. New York GM Joe Douglas was even keeled through the process, which caused the talks to stagnate a little (San Francisco was involved for a time, as well), and then things heated up again in the last couple weeks.

By the start of last week, the Panthers had emerged as the strongest suitor for Darnold. Last Monday night, the teams talked again, with both arriving in Columbus for Ohio State’s pro day. And at the pro day, on Tuesday, Douglas finally got the chance to go face-to-face with his Carolina counterpart, Scott Fitterer, and Panthers coach Matt Rhule. Talks there were positive enough for the sides to continue in earnest in the days to follow.

The Jets were said to have sought a return besting what the Cardinals got for Josh Rosen in 2019—looking for a second-rounder and a mid-round pick or player. But my understanding is a lot of different concepts were discussed, including one that would’ve sent the 23rd pick and Darnold to Carolina for the eighth pick (the Panthers weren’t going for that).

In the end, the compromise wound up being the Jets’ desired return, but in 2022 picks, rather than 2021, with a ’21 sixth-rounder tacked on. So now, Douglas has five picks in the first three rounds this year and four in the first two rounds next year with which to build. And this, of course, also locks in the certainty that quarterbacks will go 1-2-3 on April 29, with Atlanta now in position to take the fourth one or get a ransom for their pick.

Edited April 5, 2021 by Mr. Scot

[Mr. Scot]

And what happens next...

The first piece of fallout here for the Panthers concerns the decision they’ll have to make on Darnold’s fifth-year option, which I’d expect them to pick up. It’s set at $18.858 million and will be fully guaranteed upon being exercised. Which is pricey, to be sure. But the Panthers could also just restructure Darnold, with the $4.604 million due this year folded in, and spread the total of $23.462 million over the next two years as they see fit.

The APY on that, by the way, would be a very reasonable $11.731 million.

The second piece is Teddy Bridgewater, who is due a $17 million base, in addition to $750,000 in per-game roster bonuses and a $250,000 workout bonus this year. The final $17 million of that base became fully guaranteed in March ($10 million was fully guaranteed at signing) and that number has made Bridgewater virtually untradeable (the Panthers have been trying to trade Bridgewater for weeks, to no avail). So, barring someone suddenly having to scramble for a starter on the fly, it looks like that money is sunk and Carolina’s best play may be just to let Bridgewater compete with Darnold for the job.

[LinvilleGorge]

So... much like the Teddy deal, it's starting to look like we were bidding against ourselves with the other suitors dropping out and us still increasing our offer because...? Oh wee mayne.