Getty Former New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold warming up ahead of an NFL game.
A former New York Jets first-round quarterback could find himself on the trade block ahead of the 2023 season.
Sam Darnold signed a one-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers in free agency for $4.5 million. Joe Tansey of Bleacher Report labeled him as the team’s “top trade candidate” prior to training camp getting underway.
“The 2018 first-round pick might garner trade interest if he has a good camp,” Tansey said in an article posted on July 5.
Jets Signed a QB and Traded Him Within Same Offseason Previously
Typically a sign-and-trade situation happens more so in the NBA, not the NFL.
However, there have been instances throughout history where a player signed a deal with an NFL team and was traded to a new team within the same offseason.
The Jets pulled off that rare maneuver back in 2018.
Gang Green signed veteran quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to a contract and traded him six months later. He was coming off of a devastating injury with the Minnesota Vikings and the Jets bought low signing him to a one-year deal for $6 million but only $500,000 of that was guaranteed.
Bridgewater rebuilt his brand with the Jets in training camp and in preseason action which piqued the interest of the New Orleans Saints.
The Jets turned a small financial investment (Bridgewater’s contract) and a 2019 sixth-round pick into a 2019 third-rounder. A brilliant masterstroke by then-general manager Mike Maccagnan.
San Francisco has three passers that could start Week 1 with Trey Lance, Darnold, and Brock Purdy.
If Purdy is healthy he is going to start which would leave Lance and Darnold out to dry.
Polarizing Ex-Jets QB Has Chance to Realize His Potential
Darnold remains a polarizing topic on Jets’ Twitter.
Some fans believe the team hit the eject button at the right time in 2021. While others believe the Jets should have given him one more opportunity with a better supporting cast around him.
Darnold now has a chance to realize that full potential with the 49ers.
The 26-year-old originally entered the league as the No. 3 overall pick in the first round of the 2018 NFL draft. Gang Green held the No. 6 pick a few weeks before the draft but ultimately decided to trade up with the Indianapolis Colts who had the No. 3 overall pick on April 5.
The Jets put themselves in a position to take one of the top available quarterbacks when they were officially on the clock in April.
Screw the touchdown where the Jets were down 31-6 to the 49ers.
*This* is the greatest play Sam Darnold has ever made.
Darnold is so polarizing because it’s unclear whether he failed in New York because of his own merits or because of the crappy team around him.
In San Francisco, he doesn’t have that problem as the 49ers boast one of the best rosters in the league. Eric Edholm of NFL.com said back on May 22 that the 49ers actually have the No. 3 “most complete team” in the league.
On top of having one of the best rosters in the NFL, Darnold also has arguably one of the best offensive play callers in the league.
“[Kyle] Shanahan is perhaps the league’s premier schemer at the moment, able to put his offensive players — and especially his quarterback — in position to succeed like few others in the history of the sport,” Jared Dubin of CBS Sports said.
That combination could unlock the best version of Darnold that we have ever seen at the professional level.
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3-Year Jets QB Could Be Traded During Training Camp