Six years removed from their second Super Bowl appearance, the Panthers have only made the playoffs once since (2017). Their quarterback play went from former league-MVP Cam Newton, to Kyle Allen, to Teddy Bridgewater.
With the mess that is the New York Jets, trading for former third-overall pick Sam Darnold (2018) is a blessing that has quickly turned into a curse.
Darnold got the Panthers out to a 3-0 start this season, only to go on a four-game bender. Until the Giants game, the Panthers stayed within one score at the final gun.
With the NFL’s trade deadline coming up this Tuesday (November 2), the Panthers were heavily rumored to be trading for Houston Texans’ quarterback Deshaun Watson. Watson is currently facing 22 counts of sexual harassment. He has not played a single down thus far in 2021. Tyrod Taylor and Davis Mills have manned the Texans to a 1-6 record. Houston has been outscored 62-8 over their last two losses, with the Los Angeles Rams coming up this weekend.
Head coach Matt Rhule stated that Darnold is still his starter against the Rams, keeping faith with his 24-year-old to right a capsizing ship. Missing running back Christian McCaffrey has put a huge dent in Carolina’s ability to consistently move the football, after the star was placed on injured reserve on October 9. He will be eligible to return for Carolina’s next home game, November 7 against the New England Patriots.
Darnold was forced out of New York in favor of rookie Zach Wilson, who was drafted second overall this past April, because of course the Jets always know what to do with a top-3 pick…
Now ESPN reports that Carolina is no longer interested in Watson ahead of Tuesday’s deadline. As the bottom was seeming to fall out of their season, the Panthers have now made the two smartest moves of their season in a matter of the past few days. Darnold is likely going to find his way again, which will be aided by McCaffrey’s return next week.
Passing on Watson will save their season not only the rest of 2021, but 2022 and beyond. The Texans are asking for a combination of seven players between current roster members and future draft picks as compensation for letting their once-franchise quarterback go. Seven players are not going to fix the mess Houston has turned into, nor will Watson fix wherever he goes in the final two years of his current contract. Watson is technically signed with Houston until the end of the 2023 season, but has an out-clause in his contract after 2023.
Then there’s also the issue that Watson has a no-trade clause in the contract that he indicated will only be waived if the trade partner is the Miami Dolphins.
Remember that Miami did the same thing with Ryan Tannehill in bringing in Tua Tagovailoa that the Jets did with Darnold. Tannehill is now at the helm in Tennessee, where the Titans are one of the bigger threats to dethrone Kansas City from their two-year reign atop the AFC.
Remember when Michael Vick was so toxic that no one would go near him even after he was reinstated? Ray Rice never played another down in the NFL after his domestic assault video came to light. All it takes is one of the 22 allegations against Watson to have any merit and teams will not need to worry about structuring draft picks and salary cap room to bring him on board.
Carolina could use a little bit of stability the rest of the year. Bringing in a busload of extra baggage certainly is not the way to get back into a wide-open NFC playoff race.
-JC24