RALEIGH, N.C. — Thursday night the Carolina Panthers passed on an opportunity to draft Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields.
Friday morning, the team made a commitment to another quarterback, officially picking up the fifth-year option of Sam Darnold. He is now guaranteed $18.9 million in 2022. Darnold will count for $4.8 million against the cap in 2021.
The team sent a 2021 sixth-round pick, a 2022 second-round pick and a 2022 fourth-round pick to the New York Jets in exchange for the quarterback earlier this month.
“We brought Sam here for a reason. We’re excited to see what he can do. Excited to give him an opportunity,” coach Matt Rhule said Thursday. “We traded for him because we believe in his potential.”
The plan since trading for Darnold was to exercise his option, especially after giving up a significant amount in the trade. The Panthers did explore drafting Fields, who was selected by the Chicago Bears with the 11th overall pick, but ultimately decided to take South Carolina corner Jaycee Horn at No. 8, who was the top player on their board in the time. There were members of the organization interested in Fields.
Waiting to officially pick up the option also could have helped the Panthers find a trade partner to move back in the first, but ultimately nothing good enough presented itself. The team also traded Teddy Bridgewater this week to the Denver Broncos for a sixth-round. Carolina is giving Darnold the opportunity to be the clear starter and a chance to show what he can do.
Thursday, the Panthers informed wide receiver DJ Moore they would be exercising his fifth-year option. He will make $11.1 million in 2022. The team will not explore a long-term contract with Moore this offseason, per a league source, but that could be a possibility after the 2021 season. Carolina currently has just under $58 million in cap space for 2022, per Over the Cap.
In his career, Darnold, 23, has completed 59.8% of his passes for 8,097 yards, 45 touchdowns and 39 interceptions. He has been sacked 98 times. In 2018, he became the youngest quarterback to start an NFL game since the merger in 1970 at age 21. Over the last three years the Jets offense has ranked last in passing yards per game (284), passing first downs (465) and completion percentage (59.2%).
The Panthers will need to address the offensive line on the remaining days of the NFL draft to support the quarterback. Tight end is also a position of need. Carolina has used eight consecutive picks on the defensive side of the ball.
