Queasiness Warning: Panthers QB Sam Darnold Went Down With An Ankle Injury That Might End His 2022 Season

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Don't care what you think about Sam Darnold as a player. This sucks.

Less than a year ago, Darnold was leading the Carolina Panthers to a 3-0 start. A bad o-line, another year of bad health luck for Christian McCaffrey and Darnold's own injuries derailed that promising start. Already relegated to QB2 duties behind Baker Mayfield, Darnold was stuck playing with some backup blockers on Friday night, fighting to put some good film on his resume and figure out what his next move might be beyond 2022 while he rode the pine behind Baker. Now, it's a whole hell of a lot more complicated.

I feel for Darnold, even though I've had it out for him since the day he entered the NFL due to how much of a bust I thought he was going to be. The No. 3 overall pick in 2018 got screwed by going to the Jets, who changed coaches after his rookie year to Adam Gase. "Crazy Eyes" is a heat-seeking missile tailored to obliterate any semblance of quality — nay, acceptable — quarterback play. Then, the situation in Carolina wasn't all that much better in 2021, as the Panthers wound up firing their offensive coordinator Joe Brady when their record was 5-7.

By the way, the Panthers may or may not look into a familiar guy for their backup QB job…

Good luck, Sam Darnold, and genuine wishes for a speedy-as-possible and full recovery. That looked painful as hell. I'm down for a Darnold redemption arc in 2023. What if Tom Brady retires (again) and he goes to Tampa Bay to reunite with Bowles or something? IDK just spitballing here.

Twitter @MattFitz_gerald