I was trying to think of which teams could use Sam in 2021: -New England Patriots Of course they could use Sam, but no way the Jets trade him to them. I would worry about a Revis situation, where the Jets trade Sam somewhere and he ends up with the Pats in 2022, but it is unlikely. Wherever he is traded he will stay for awhile. -Indianapolis Colts Philip Rivers is not the answer for them, but I don't want to trade Sam to a team we traded all our picks for to draft Sam. That makes the trade look even worse. It would be a great spot for him though. -Washington Football Team Ron Rivera is a good Head Coach and they need a QB. That franchise is just as bad as the Jets though lately. I would prefer to send Sam to a better situation for his own sake. -San Francisco 49ers Jimmy G doesn't seem like answer there. With Kyle Shanahan, Sam could reach his potential. I could see that being a great fit. Plus Sam would be back in his native California. -Chicago Bears Tribisky and Foles are not the answer. Sam would be an upgrade over both. With a strong defense, Sam could make the Bears instant contenders. -Minnesota Vikings Kirk Cousins is not worth his price tag. They may look to replace him and if they keep winning their pick won't be too high. He would succeed there too. -NFC South (Falcons, Buccaneers, Panthers, Saints) Then pretty much the entire NFC South. Matt Ryan is 35. Perhaps a new regime would want to start fresh with Sam in Atlanta. Brady is obviously old and Sam could be a nice option for them. He could sit behind Brady in 2021 and then take over in 2022. Carolina is doing fine with Teddy, but Sam would be an upgrade and the Saints have Winston waiting in the wings for Brees to retire, but I think Sam would be a better option for them in 2021. In the end, hopefully the Jets trade him to an NFC team. As for compensation, I guess it depends how he plays these final 7 games. I started the year thinking it would take 2 1st Round picks to acquire Sam, but times have changed. Could end up being a 2nd round pick or even a 3rd. We will see.
I think there’s a lot of CYA going on with Sam. Folks don’t want to admit they might have been wrong.
Indy, SanFran, Chicago, Las Vegas, Atlanta, plus a few others. Peter King.....Albert Breer.....Phil and Chris Simms....some woman at The Athletic.....Mike Florio....the head draft/QB guy at NFL Network.....Keyshawn.....Shannon Sharpe....Steve Young....all have said or written that they think Sam Darnold is attractive to 1 or more teams. Teams are not only convinved that Sam is still GOOD....they are convinced that Gase blows and that their is no talent on the Jets. The fact that Tannehill has lit it up the last 2 years shows what happens when a QB gets a decent OL, decent WR's, and a good RB.
I can see SanFran giving the Jets a deferred #1 pick or conditional #1 upgraded from a #2. Darnold is a Shanny QB...more so than Cousins.
You don't mind if some of us restrain our enthusiasm a bit until he actually demonstrates just a bit of what value he has left, do you? Also, there's often quite a difference between how teams view a player and how the pundits do. Nothing he's done in 32 games warrants bolding and underlining.
Slightly OT, sorry, but is this still really the case? I mean I understand it definitely was but the NFL gets such blanket national, and international, coverage now that I can't imagine it making much difference where he plays to his endorsement earning potential. Would Eli have earned more than Peyton because he played in NYC and his brother didn't? I doubt Papa Johns saw it like that. Would Rodgers, Mahomes and Baker have got more earning opportunities if they played in NYC? I see them on ads during games all the time. I might well be wrong, of course, it's just that this gets repeated every so often and I always mean to ask if it is still relevant.
Shanny is terrified to let Jimmy G throw and Jimmy G has a much higher career completion % than Sam and a much better career TD/INT ratio than Sam.
why would you want to? he looks terrible (well, he looks incredibly handsome, but his play is terrible)
Can anyone think of a QB that was let go because they looked bad (not for injury reasons but because of poor play) who then went on to be a really good QB somewhere else (and I mean really good, not Tannehill level of being decent)
Tannehill is really good. And there's Alex Smith who didn't change teams, but the 49ers overhauled their coaching staff and roster, so it was like a new team.
Yes but Smith was never bad with the Niners he was always decent - I am talking about someone like Winston or Rosen or (potentially) Darnold - that is relatively young and seen as disappointing as is released and that then goes on to be great somewhere else
Sorry I wasn't massively clear - i was thinking about young players like Rosen or Winston or Mariota or someone like that that is seen as a being a bust and released by the team that drafted them only to see them go to another team and become great. Good shout with Steve Young
Smith was pretty bad with the 49ers before Harbaugh got there; for instance, he threw 51 touchdowns to 53 interceptions.
