Behind the scenes insights

[Mr. Scot]

Some information from Joe Person's latest article in The Athletic...

FYI: While the text quoted in this post primarily describes events in the timeline of the Sam Darnold trade, it's not strictly about that. These details also give us insight into the thinking and the processes so far this offseason of Scott Fitterer and Matt Rhule.

Excerpts: 

Jan. 30: Shortly after the Panthers’ charter returns to Charlotte from Alabama, news breaks that the Rams have acquired veteran QB Matthew Stafford in a blockbuster trade with Detroit. The Rams sent QB Jared Goff, a 2021 third-round pick and first-round picks in ’22 and ’23 to best the Panthers’ offer and win the Stafford sweepstakes. Carolina’s package included the No. 8 pick, a fifth-round selection and quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, the first clear signal that the Panthers were ready to move on from Bridgewater after just one season.

...

Mid-February: About a month after saying in his introductory news conference that the Panthers would be “in on every deal,” Fitterer begins making calls to teams to see which players — at every position — might be available via trade. 

...

March 11: The Panthers begin their due diligence on Darnold, a process that includes a study of his three years of NFL game tape by Rhule and the team’s pro scouts. Rhule had met virtually with Darnold in 2019 when interviewing for the Jets’ head coaching vacancy but had not done a thorough film review at that time. Rhule and Fitterer also begin talking to Robby Anderson and other players who were teammates with Darnold in New York. On this day, fortuitous scheduling provides the Panthers an opportunity to meet with another ex-Jet. Former Panthers center Ryan Kalil is in town for the joint retirement ceremony for Thomas Davis and Greg Olsen. At a lunch with members of the Panthers front office, Kalil endorses Darnold. The two ex-USC stars were teammates in New York in 2019 when Kalil put his retirement off for one season.

...

March 26: Since their initial conversation in February, Fitterer continues to talk periodically with Douglas, who tells him he’s willing to listen to offers for Darnold but not until the pro days for the college quarterbacks have wrapped up. “Joe’s been a good friend for a long time. We saw him at several of the quarterback workouts this year,” Fitterer said. “I think we were both on the same page: Hey, let’s get through all these workouts, see what the medicals are. Let’s see what these guys are like in the workouts, on Zoom, and everything else. Let’s learn as much as we can about this.”

Also on this day, the 49ers make a huge move by trading their No. 12 pick, two future first-round picks and a third-round selection to the Dolphins for the No. 3 pick. Most observers believe San Francisco jumped up to take a quarterback. While the move surprises many, Fitterer saw it coming because the Panthers also had talked to Miami about the possibility of moving to No. 3. Ultimately, the Panthers balked at the draft picks that Miami wanted. Plus, Fitterer was reluctant to make a move before the Panthers completed their evaluations of the top QBs in the draft by attending the pro days for Wilson and Fields.

...

March 30: A Panthers contingent consisting of Fitterer, Rhule and player personnel director Pat Stewart arrives at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center for Ohio State’s pro day. The Jets are represented by Douglas, assistant general manager Rex Hogan and LaFleur. (Saleh does not attend because his wife is expecting their seventh child.) As Fields’ throwing session is wrapping up, Rhule and Fitterer end up alongside Douglas and the conversation turns to Darnold. Douglas indicates the Jets aren’t going to just give Darnold away, starting the trade talks that will intensify throughout the week. “When it comes to finding out just the right compensation, they value their players a certain way. And we look at them and we evaluate them a certain way. It’s just trying to find that happy medium so that we can all make a value decision that we think is valuable for us,” Fitterer says. “We see him as a starter. They really like Sam. They saw him as a starter. They’re in a position where they can make multiple decisions or take a quarterback at the top of the draft. So we just had to come to an agreement on what the right price was.”

...

April 2: At the start of the holiday weekend, Fitterer and Douglas still have not reached that happy medium. The Panthers’ initial offer was a fourth-round pick for Darnold, while Douglas was looking for something more substantial, such as a future first-round pick. With the Panthers’ selections falling in the top 10 in each of the first six rounds, Fitterer is not willing to part with a high pick in this year’s draft. “We wanted to keep our picks this year — one, two and three. That was really important to us, especially picking as high as we are in some of those rounds,” he says.

...

April 5: After touching base a couple of times over the weekend, Fitterer and Douglas resume their talks Monday morning. Close to a deal that both sides believe is equitable, they take a break and pick back up in the afternoon. Finally, a little less than two months after their initial conversation about Darnold, the trade is finalized. The compensation: The Panthers get Darnold, while the Jets get a sixth-round pick in 2021 and second- and fourth-round picks in 2022.

There was some consideration from Douglas not to do this deal yet. The team felt there was a chance it could get that coveted first-rounder, or conditional first-rounder, if it held Darnold until the draft. Ultimately, Carolina’s decision to include the fourth-rounder, in addition to the second and sixth, convinced Douglas. There was some risk in that, if he waited, the Panthers would decide to go in a different direction, much like Washington and San Francisco. There was also the outside chance a quarterback would fall to No. 8, which would also take Carolina out of the running for Darnold. With no other talks as intense as the ones with Fitterer, Douglas accepts.

At 3:58 p.m., ESPN’s Adam Schefter breaks the news on Twitter — two minutes before the Panthers announce the deal in their own tweet. An hour and a half later, Fitterer does a Zoom with Charlotte reporters, saying he liked Darnold when he was coming out of USC and believes he’ll be a good fit with the Panthers. “I just think in this offense with Joe Brady, Matt Rhule and the weapons that we have around him,” he says, “that he can take that next step with us.”

While Fitterer joins his family at a Charlotte restaurant to celebrate his son’s 14th birthday, Darnold celebrates with his friends and family. Jordan Palmer, Darnold’s quarterbacks coach, posts an Instagram video of Darnold being greeted by cheers and balloons in the Panthers’ colors. Darnold smiles at the camera, raises his right arm and puts on a Panthers hat, publicly capping a process that Fitterer, Rhule and Douglas worked on privately for weeks.
 

[Dex]

Good article. I still think we gave up a little too much. But I'm happy Darnold is a Panther.

[Soul Rebel]

I am excited for Darnold. I'll be even more excited if we draft Sewell/Slater or Pitts at 8 and not a QB. I think Fitts can work some magic with trades throughout the draft as well as with Teddy. 

Give me Stokes in the 2nd and then go all offense.....build out the trenches and add a late round RB.

[TheCasillas]

(Saleh does not attend because his wife is expecting their seventh child.)

Saleh family putting together their own starting 11....

[ladypanther]

8 minutes ago, Dex said:

I still think we gave up a little too much. But I'm happy Darnold is a Panther.

I agree, but.....I know we are going to fix that Oline now and am hoping Darnold will prove to be a steal.

[Khyber53]

That's a good read, thanks for sharing!

I hope this all works out well. There's nothing better than a redemption story and hopefully the kid can thrive here. Get him some protection and then all the pieces are in place for success. 

We're going to learn a lot about our coaches and management this season, based on this trade, draft picks and development of the team. Let's hope a real off-season is in the works and they can produce something championship-worthy and enduring.

[MHS831]

9 minutes ago, Dex said:

Good article. I still think we gave up a little too much. But I'm happy Darnold is a Panther.

I think we will get most of it back when we ditch the Bridge. 

Not too worried.  They wanted a first, and Fitts could have squeezed them--we seemed to have the leverage, but in the grand scheme of things, we gave up about 230 draft points to get him (if you devalue next year's picks one round).  230 points is nearly the exact value of this year's 3rd rounder.

2021, round 6: 12.6 points

2022, round 2 (if we finish in middle of the pack, #16):  190 points (third round value in 2021)

2022, round 4 (if we finish in middle of the pack, #16):  25.8 points (fifth round value in 2021)

So if we get a 3rd rounder in 2021 or a future 2nd for Bridgewater, it balances out.  even steven

[MHS831]

11 minutes ago, ladypanther said:

I agree, but.....I know we are going to fix that Oline now and am hoping Darnold will prove to be a steal.

I would not be surprised to see us grab a LT and a G / C in rounds 1 and 3.  I am not happy about CB, and I keep getting a sneaking suspicion about a WR or S in round 2....

[Mr. Scot]

Just now, MHS831 said:

I would not be surprised to see us grab a LT and a G / C in rounds 1 and 3.  I am not happy about CB, and I keep getting a sneaking suspicion about a WR or S in round 2....

Richie Grant, if he falls to us...

[Panthercougar68]

Now Im going to wonder what other players Fit had in mind when calling around early in the process  

[Mr. Scot]

2 minutes ago, Panthercougar68 said:

Now Im going to wonder what other players Fit had in mind when calling around early in the process  

All of 'em...

[MHS831]

6 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

Richie Grant, if he falls to us...

He is the perfect fit.  Would love to see it.  I think he will be there--Moore (yes, another WR named Moore) is the other player who could fall and he would be great in the slot...Just can't help but notice we seem to have been looking at safeties but have not really added any--yet--and in this defense, they are important.

[KendrickPanther]

If we keep Darnold for 2 years, he's good but not great and signs elsewhere, we might snag a 4th or 5th for him. If he's great but we don't want to pay him, we might get a 3rd.

The only way this deal sucks is if Darnold sucks. And we would honestly be losing and frustrated regardless of the compensation.

[Mr. Scot]

Two parts I found especially interesting

...

While the move surprises many, Fitterer saw it coming because the Panthers also had talked to Miami about the possibility of moving to No. 3. Ultimately, the Panthers balked at the draft picks that Miami wanted. Plus, Fitterer was reluctant to make a move before the Panthers completed their evaluations of the top QBs in the draft by attending the pro days for Wilson and Fields.

...

With the Panthers’ selections falling in the top 10 in each of the first six rounds, Fitterer is not willing to part with a high pick in this year’s draft. “We wanted to keep our picks this year — one, two and three. That was really important to us, especially picking as high as we are in some of those rounds,” he says.

...

Probably worth remembering that Fitterer's background is as a draft scout.

Edited April 9, 2021 by Mr. Scot