Sam Darnold’s reaction to Panthers trade: ‘Relief and excitement’

Sam Darnold said he had a lot of mixed emotions after his trade from the Jets to the Panthers.

“I imagined I was going to be the franchise quarterback of the New York Jets for a long time,” he told the Panthers’ team website. “And once you realize that the team that drafted you is moving on, it stings a little bit.”

Darnold added in a press conference with reporters that his “goal” after the Jets drafted him third overall in 2018 was to play for 20 years and win Super Bowls, according to SNY. That obviously didn’t happen. Darnold only won 13 games in three years and averaged 2,699 yards, 15 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.

Despite the losses, Darnold remains convinced that he could have turned things around in New York.

“I always thought I could make it work in New York – that we were going to get pieces and win some games,” Darnold said, according to The Athletic’s Joe Person.

Many assumed the Jets would move on from Darnold after the 2020 season, but Joe Douglas said he would wait until after he evaluated every possible avenue at the quarterback position – which included possibly keeping Darnold and drafting a rookie passer second overall.

Getting a concrete answer on his future after months of uncertainty was a weight off Darnold’s shoulders.

“It was such a relief to find out the news and understand where my next stop was going to be,” Darnold added, according to NorthJersey.com’s Andy Vasquez.

The Jets sent Darnold to the Panthers for a sixth-round pick in 2021, as well as a second- and fourth-rounder in 2022. Darnold said it stung a bit to hear the Jets wanted to trade him, but he admitted he was both excited and relieved to be in Carolina.

“To go from being unwanted to being wanted is huge,” he told the team website. “Getting that news that you’re going to be traded, of a team saying, ‘Hey, we didn’t want you,’ for whatever reason, is hard.”

Darnold enters a situation a bit better than the one he had in New York – and one he could succeed in. The weapons around Darnold will be better: the Panthers boast two 1,000-yard receivers and dynamic running back Christian McCaffrey. The coaching staff also features three innovative offensive minds in head coach Matt Rhule, offensive coordinator Joe Brady and quarterback coach Sean Ryan.

The split made sense for the Jets and Darnold with Douglas zeroed in on a quarterback with the No. 2 overall pick. Douglas wished Darnold well after the trade and said the team seriously considered keeping Darnold but decided it was better to give him a fresh start elsewhere.

Despite the trade, Darnold had nothing but good things to say about Douglas, the team and Jets fans. He added that he believes Robert Saleh can help fix the team.

“Nothing but respect for everyone in New York,” Darnold said, according to NFL Network’s Kim Jones. “Jets fans are one of a kind. I’ll be forever grateful for those fans,” he said, per ESPN’s Rich Cimini.

Darnold did offer one piece of advice for the next Jets quarterback, though:

“Have fun and don’t pay attention to the media,” he said, per The Athletic. “No, I’m joking.”

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