We didn’t have to wait long to find out if the Panthers were going to pick up their new quarterback’s fifth-year option.
Not long after Adam Schefter at ESPN reported that the team is trading three draft picks to the Jets for Sam Darnold, Jonathan Jones at CBS Sports reported that Carolina will in fact exercise Darnold’s fifth-year option.
The Panthers will exercise QB Sam Darnold's fifth-year option, per source.
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) April 5, 2021
There are questions about Darnold’s play during his time in New York (at least his TD/INT ratio). However, from a salary cap perspective it’s not hard to justify bringing him in by any measure.
Darnold is entering what would have been the final year of his rookie deal with the Jets. Over the Cap says his cap number in 2021 is a little under $10 million. By picking up the option, the Panthers have Darnold guaranteed to make $18.8 million for the 2022 season – still a relatively small number for a starting quarterback these days.
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