It’s been a wild offseason of QB movement across the NFL so why not add one more to the mix? The Jets had been shopping Sam Darnold around for a while after a disappointing start to his professional career. It appears that they have finally found a partner for that trade.
The Jets are reportedly sending Darnold to the Carolina Panthers in a trade. The trade comes three years after New York had basically proclaimed Darnold to be the face of the franchise and the signal-caller of their long-term future.
New York will get 3 draft picks in exchange for Darnold. They receive a sicth-round pick for 2021 while adding a second-round pick and four-round pick in 2022. Darnold was the 3rd overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft.
With Darnold’s trade, the Jets do not have a clear starter at QB. As such, they are expected to pick one up in the number 2 pick in the draft. Their reported leading candidate is BYU’s Zach Wilson, a guy that has met with the Jets several times leading up to the draft.
Darnold has a year left on his rookie contract with a salary totaling $4.6 million. The Panthers will have to decide on his fifth-year option by May 3rd. That would be for the amount of $18.8 million, all of which is guaranteed. The Panthers have been looking to upgrade from Teddy Bridgewater, even trying to trade him to Detroit for Matthew Stafford before he went to the Rams.
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