ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reports "some" within the Panthers organization want Sam Darnold to get a chance to start

[PantherKyle]

Man I wish Corral was healthy...would be great to evaluate him this last half of year. 

[Shocker]

WTF do we have to lose?  Let him play

[Jon Snow]

4 hours ago, Waldo said:

I get the fans, they want their guy to be the one to win the spot. I don't know why they still have a guy after what we have all seen but whatever, SSDD.

Coming from within the organization is concerning to me. Coaches friction or front office people that are tied to personel moves? Wilks was critical of Snow and that worked real well for him so are other people doing the same now? Having an internal knife fight isn't going to make the mess smaller to clean up at the end of the year. This is just an odd week to throw out a 'Don't forget about Sam' message whenBaker is getting his after subbing in well as a backup...what we both agree we should be evaluating these 3 on the rest of the year.

It is probably Fitterer asking for this. Maybe at the behest of Tepper who knows.  I'm sure they want to wring out ever penny of that 18 million out of him before he's cut loose.  Maybe it's a way of thumbing his nose a Rhule if he believes Sam is truly better than Mayfield.  Who knows. It's going to happen regardless so might as well pop some popcorn and enjoy the show.

[Waldo]

Just now, Jon Snow said:

It is probably Fitterer asking for this. Maybe at the behest of Tepper who knows.  I'm sure they want to wring out ever penny of that 18 million out of him before he's cut loose.  Maybe it's a way of thumbing his nose a Rhule if he believes Sam is truly better than Mayfield.  Who knows. It's going to happen regardless so might as well pop some popcorn and enjoy the show.

Unless Friterer has to prove Sam isn't a massive bust then he is best to pretend that was Rhule thing and just do business as normal so next man up.

It just sounds like there is more going on behind the scenes then we know. I sure hope so because if any of those people are getting comfy at this point just sounds like we are better off without them next year. 

[Jon Snow]

10 minutes ago, Waldo said:

Unless Friterer has to prove Sam isn't a massive bust then he is best to pretend that was Rhule thing and just do business as normal so next man up.

It just sounds like there is more going on behind the scenes then we know. I sure hope so because if any of those people are getting comfy at this point just sounds like we are better off without them next year. 

I'm sure something is afoot.  It could simply be to shop Sam and Baker for whatever if anything they can get. Or it could simply be to piss off the fans. Either way it doesn't bother me one bit.

[mrcompletely11]

3 minutes ago, Jon Snow said:

I'm sure something is afoot.  It could simply be to shop Sam and Baker for whatever if anything they can get. Or it could simply be to piss off the fans. Either way it doesn't bother me one bit.

How are we going to trade them?

[Jon Snow]

Just now, mrcompletely11 said:

How are we going to trade them?

They're not. I forgot both are free agents. Brain fart on my part. I guess it's to see if they want to keep him then.

[kass]

Its a no brainer.

Either if Darnold is kept as a backup next season, developing him is a good thing.
If he is not retained, the bugger contract he gets elsewhere, the better for Panthers when compensatory picks are handed out after next years free agency.

(Same with Baker, he should also get 1-2 more games).

Edited November 17, 2022 by kass
added baker

[Waldo]

20 minutes ago, Jon Snow said:

I'm sure something is afoot.  It could simply be to shop Sam and Baker for whatever if anything they can get. Or it could simply be to piss off the fans. Either way it doesn't bother me one bit.

Not bothered just curious on such weird timing since we can't do anything but play them all until the end of the year anyways. 

[Khyber53]

The truth is that Baker is on a quarter by quarter watch this Sunday vs. Baltimore. He's going to have to play lights out to keep the gig through this game, much less the next.

PJ is out for a couple of weeks at the very least, so the idea of Darnold starting can't be that odd, but it all depends on Mayfield and if he can play well. He seemed to when given the shot. It seems that a lot of this team is performing better without Rhule here, from the players to the coaches.

In saying that, we have to recognize that Darnold probably suffered the most under Rhule of any player. Could he be better behind a different line, with better coaching and a game plan that relies more on the run? Sure. Will it be good enough? We only have past results to go on, so the odds aren't in Sam's favor. 

 

[Waldo]

10 minutes ago, kass said:

Its a no brainer.

Either if Darnold is kept as a backup next season, developing him is a good thing.
If he is not retained, the bugger contract he gets elsewhere, the better for Panthers when compensatory picks are handed out after next years free agency.

(Same with Baker, he should also get 1-2 more games).

That would be at best a really late round comp pick that would likely not go anywhere with a new staff coming in and brining a few outside guys to remake the team as they desire. I can't imagine either one signing a substantial contract at this point. A short prove it deal that is easy to get out of? Sure but nothing major. 

[CRA]

we got a lot more folks than Matt Rhule that need to be purged from this org. 

no one needs to see Sam Darnold play another snap in the NFL. 

[trueblade]

13 minutes ago, kass said:

Its a no brainer.

Either if Darnold is kept as a backup next season, developing him is a good thing.
If he is not retained, the bugger contract he gets elsewhere, the better for Panthers when compensatory picks are handed out after next years free agency.

(Same with Baker, he should also get 1-2 more games).

Fitterer/Rhule demonstrated  too large of an appetite for free agents to hope for compensatory picks. If that continues with Fitterer/new HC, we will sign enough to offset any losses. That said, I've been really happy that they did sign Bozeman and Corbett because the line has been much improved.

[frankw]

Rhule was a bad coach but Darnold is who he is regardless. He isn't going to look good for long and we are not just going to magically flip him in a trade. The rest of the league knows only a few fans here still believe there is even a sliver of hope he could be a viable starter. He and Baker both are done.