There’s very little that happens in the NFL that doesn’t have a ripple effect. Especially when it comes to moves made in the offseason, there’s often the falling of dominoes as one move leads to another. In it’s most basic form, a team signs or trades for a veteran, that then takes them out of the running for another player at a similar position, and it will likely drastically change the needs for that squad in the coming NFL draft.
The waves don’t just wash ashore at that team’s facilities, either. Those moves in turn impact how other teams operate, either by having one of their options removed, making other players available to them who might have been off limits or changing the landscape of the draft picks ahead of them. For the Dallas Cowboys, this scenario rings true with the trade of quarterback Sam Darnold from the New York Jets to the Carolina Panthers.
On Monday afternoon, Darnold found himself a late easter basket. Facing the possibility of being usurped by the No. 2 overall draft pick and having to hold a place for him in New York, Darnold now has an opportunity to prove himself a franchise quarterback for a different franchise. Away from the misguided leadership of former head coach Adam Gase, Darnold will start anew under second-year head coach Matt Rhule. Darnold certainly has a lot to prove, and though it’s reported the Panthers will exercise Darnold’s fifth-year option, nothing about his time is guaranteed.
So how does any of this impact Dallas? In two ways.