Panthers Vet QB options: A snip from the athletic

[Jackie Lee]

6 minutes ago, CarolinaRideorDie said:

Essentially, our HC is such a dumbass and game planner that he needs a generational talent at QB to save him. Yeah, that seems unlikely. I'm already looking forward to 2023 off season because that's when we can really improve. 

I don't think this forum has ever already started looking at possible 2023 draft/QB options a year in advance. Assuming Rhule doesn't trade away the majority of our 23' draft picks to attempt to save his job

[WarPanthers89]

Minshew is the best of both worlds. He would be low cost draft capital wise, still be on a rookie deal, and allow us to fox our line with the number 6 on a LT or a trade down, and we can spend our money in free agency on filling two starting roles. 

[BlitzMonster]

I hear Uncle Rico is available.  He can throw a football a quarter mile.  

[BurnNChinn]

I know this guy is always wrong but wondered what y’all thought?

PS- He’s also saying Cowboys contacted Texans about trading Dak for Watson. So take what u want from it lol

Edited February 22, 2022 by BurnNChinn

[kungfoodude]

5 hours ago, ForJimmy said:

Yuck. Maybe Minshew for very cheap, outside of that give me Mariotta or Mitch over those guys. 

All of those players are significantly better than Mariotta or Trubisky(minus Minshew, who is a little bit of a wildcard).

 

[ForJimmy]

5 hours ago, kungfoodude said:

All of those players are significantly better than Mariotta or Trubisky(minus Minshew, who is a little bit of a wildcard).

 

Sure but at what cost? Mariotta and Mitch should hopefully be cheaper placeholders. Going all in for a vet at our current state is a bad move IMO. Draft one or draft OL and just get a cheap younger placeholder with a little upside and continue the search. 

[kungfoodude]

1 hour ago, ForJimmy said:

Sure but at what cost? Mariotta and Mitch should hopefully be cheaper placeholders. Going all in for a vet at our current state is a bad move IMO. Draft one or draft OL and just get a cheap younger placeholder with a little upside and continue the search. 

In our current state, I wouldn't even bother investing in a QB. Fix the OL in the draft and let the next coaching staff figure out QB.

[ForJimmy]

23 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

In our current state, I wouldn't even bother investing in a QB. Fix the OL in the draft and let the next coaching staff figure out QB.

Honestly that works too. 

[Mr. Scot]

43 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

In our current state, I wouldn't even bother investing in a QB. Fix the OL in the draft and let the next coaching staff figure out QB.

I'd be okay with it.

Kinda think Matt Rhule might not wholly agree with that approach, though.

[Icege]

Minshew presents the best value overall imo in terms of what the team has resources wise and what other players will end up costing.

 

Can we fast forward to next year's offseason? 

[Carl Spackler]

OP, schedule this post every mid-February for the next 10-15 years.

[Stingray3030]

I am 100% for Minshew - one big issue I felt like Darnold had was a lack of leadership and confidence - he never looked like he was in charge of that offense on the field.  Minshew did not appear to have that issue...low cost - decent potential - and we still upgrade the line in the draft?  Worst case scenario we still get a good draft pick in 2022 and we don't sacrifice picks like we might he we go after some of these other vet QB's.  Sounds like best case for us right now to me

[Khyber53]

Minshew has a bit of a Delhomme vibe and while that could be a lot of fun, let's be real about what we need to do.

We need to trot Darnold back out there behind an improved offensive line. Chances are we're still going to suck, but we will have paid for the right to do so and we can get what we have spent on bad QBing behind us. 

Rhule said this was the guy and then made sure he got that second year with the contract extension because the cost was too good to pass up on. Sometimes, when you buy a box full of crap, you've just got to work your way through it. If it costs Rhule his job (and it should have done so already) then so be it.

Any QB we pick up, except for a late rounds draftee, will just saddle this team with long term costs and more short term losses. 

Really, we need to take the keys away from the drunk before he gets back in the car. Since we've declined to drive his ass home, we're just going to have to sit here until he either sobers up or daylight comes and he can find his own way home.

 

[Sgt Schultz]

1 hour ago, kungfoodude said:

In our current state, I wouldn't even bother investing in a QB. Fix the OL in the draft and let the next coaching staff figure out QB.

This. 

Had we stuck to the plan to use Bridgewater to fill the gap and audition for the role, we'd be in a different position.  I realize this place would have turned into Chernobyl had they brought him back for 2021, but 2022 was the decision year for him, the way his contract was structured.  If I remember the details right, his salary would have been big, but his residual bonus relatively small (in the area of $5M).  Then they got in a public pi$$ing contest with him and had to abandon that plan.  That created an urgent need/panic for another QB. 

They compounded that by thinking we were only a QB away from showing something, but with our OL we were farther than that and we had a mass regression in 2021, anyway.

Had we not felt the need to go tit-for-tat when Bridgewater complained publicly, we would be 1) sucking up his third year which was only intended to be used if he was the answer, 2) breaking in our new long-term starter, either via trade or the draft, or 3) shopping for a new placeholder with little cap money tied up in the position.  Instead, we are sucking up a year of Darnold at $18.5M while trying to do what is behind door #2 or #3.    And our options for #2 are not great, either because of what is available or what is available at a price we can afford.

The old saying about what to do if you find yourself in a hole applies.  Unless something falls in our lap, suck it up and put the next QB in a position to succeed by building the OL.  That does not bode well for 2022, but IF the OL is addressed and gels, and IF CMC stays healthy, and IF Darnold upgrades his play toward mediocrity, maybe we can get to where we had hoped to be in 2021. 

Otherwise, hand the reins to someone else (at QB and probably HC) next year.  But let's stop lunging at anything that could remotely be an upgrade, unless it does not distract us from trying to put a QB in a position to succeed.  In fairness to Darnold, he may not have that in him, but in our current situation, he can't prove it even if he did.

I see Kyber just posted some very similar thoughts.