In one of the more intriguing depth chart decisions this late in the season, head coach of the Panthers Matt Rhule has announced that Sam Darnold will start under center for the team’s Week 17 matchup in New Orleans. The intrigue comes from a few places, namely a possible quarterback controversy and the handling of Darnold’s health.
It’s been hard to get a read on what Rhule’s thoughts are on their quarterback room. Longtime Panther Cam Newton was signed to help fill in when Darnold fractured his scapula in a loss to the Patriots and was placed on IR. Newton started 5 of the next 6 games, losing all of his starts and being benched twice for P.J. Walker. Before Newton’s most recent start, Darnold was activated off of IR. Despite Darnold’s activation, Rhule stuck with Newton to start against the Buccaneers. It didn’t take long for Newton to be benched a third time, this time for the newly healthy Darnold. Whether it was skill or health that had Darnold coming off the bench instead of starting is unclear, but 19 minutes into the game, Rhule clearly thought Darnold gave them the best chance at winning.
It certainly wouldn’t be unreasonable for Rhule to be cautious and let Darnold take the rest of the season to heal. After all, last week’s loss to Tampa Bay eliminated the Panthers from playoff contention. To take Darnold immediately from IR and throw him into the line of fire seems like a bit of an unnecessary risk.
Rhule was quoted saying, “Sam has been working hard to get back…We’re going to give him this opportunity to show what he can do.” The stance conveyed in this quote seems to show that Darnold’s grasp on the starting quarterback job in Carolina is tenuous at best. It sounds as if Rhule is giving the former first round pick one more chance over the next two games to convince him that quarterback shouldn’t be a priority for the Panthers this offseason. Road matchups against the Saints and Buccaneers won’t make this an easy task for Darnold.
This is some TMZ level spin. Cam Newton has been terrible, save for his first 5 minutes as a Panther again. Sam Darnold is under contract for next season. He has been cleared to play. They want to see what he can do.
He won’t do anything, because he doesn’t have an offensive line to protect him. There is no intrigue.
It certainly wouldn’t be unreasonable for you to present the facts without peppering them with so much ridiculous spice… or would it?
i mean it’s logical but was never a foregone conclusion.
I think the rationale behind the writer’s style is that Cam started last week’s game, yet was randomly benched for Darnold. This begs the question: if Darnold was healthy, why did Cam start (since he’s clearly not the future and winning really isn’t that important at this point)? If Darnold was not healthy, why didn’t Carolina just sit Cam for PJ instead?
Randomly benched? The dude is horrible.
I’m aware. I meant that Cam’s play was no different than any other week. Why even start him if you’re just going to play Darnold anyway? Unless Darnold was hurt, in which case the former USC signal caller should not have even entered the game
I realize it’s speculative in the article, but at 5-10 it no longer becomes about who gives you the best chance to win. Cam is finished as a starting QB, and it’s clear. Throwing him out there to both take the beating behind a poor team and improve your draft position would probably be the best course moving forward for the remainder of this year, though.
If Sam was their guy, they wouldn’t send him out there to get beat up the next two weeks. They’d shut him down and regroup for next year.
A little patience, in whatever direction they decide, would benefit the Panthers immensely. Knee jerk decisions, whether in the “right” or “wrong” direction, always force a team to re-adjust suddenly. You can’t move in any direction without stability. They’ve fired their coordinator, switched quarterbacks nearly a half dozen times, and may fire their head coach (all just during the regular season, not considering the signings/releases/trades prior) soon. That’s a LOT of turnover for a team without a clear identity (even for one that does have an identity to fall back on). They traded for Darnold, and he’s the only one to have some modicum of sustained success at all-he’s what they’ve got. They have other issues they can work out while they allow him to start.
Whatever decision the Panthers make, at quarterback or coach or beyond, they need to take a lot of time to consider it and not force the conclusion simply for the sake of having a decision made.
Neither Cam nor Walker will be QB1 in Charlotte next year. Darnold might be. Or, if he plays competently, as he did early in the season, he could be trade material (yeah, I know, but you only need one other team to go along). Might as well see what you have.