I don’t like this trade for Carolina. If Darnold turns out to be a good QB, then it’s a good trade, but what are the odds that happens?
I am also particularly surprised they parted with a two plus given that Darnold’s rookie scale contract ends after this year, and Carolina has to decide whether to trigger his fifth year option THIS offseason. This means have to decide whether to give him a fully guaranteed salary in excess of 18M for 2022 within weeks. If they trigger the option and Darnold blossoms, then it’s fine. If they trigger it and he has a mediocre (or worse) year, then his contract is eating up almost ten percent of their 2022 cap and he is untradeable at that salary. If they don’t trigger it and he blossoms, then they’re gonna have to franchise him or hand him a large extension, all on the strength of one good year. I hate where this leaves Carolina strategically. It may work out, but it seems far more likely that this investment blows up in their face.
Conversely, this is a great trade for the Jets. The Darnold pick and development was a total disaster, but they recouped good value for a sunk cost even though everyone knew Darnold wasn’t in their plans and he hasn’t shown he is a good NFL player.