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The 4-0 Minnesota Vikings will be taking on the 2-2 New York Jets in London this weekend, setting up a fascinating quarterback matchup given Sam Darnold’s history with Gang Green.
Sam Darnold was drafted by the Jets out of the University of Southern California with the third overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft but lasted just three seasons in the Big Apple before being traded to the Carolina Panthers for draft picks.
After spending time in Carolina and San Francisco, Darnold has not only found a starting job with the Minnesota Vikings but looks like the franchise quarterback the Jets thought he could be when they drafted him.
Given that fellow former cast-off quarterbacks such as Geno Smith (also a former Jet) and Baker Mayfield are now thriving in situations other than the ones they were drafted into, there’s been a debate about how much responsibility a franchise bears when a quarterback winds up being a “bust.”
Darnold, however, gave the Jets a bit of a pass when asked about that notion by reporters, saying that the organization didn’t fail him.
“No,” Darnold said when asked about whether the Jets failed him as a young quarterback. “I had a lot of opportunities in New York and I always felt like I could have played better there.”
"I had a lot of opportunities in New York, I always felt like I could've played better there"
Sam Darnold on his time with the Jets: pic.twitter.com/gq1gYKnKnC
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) October 3, 2024
It’s a classy answer from Darnold, but it’s also a lie. Darnold was drafted in 2018, when the Jets had Todd Bowles — also now thriving outside of New York as head coach of the Tampa Bay Bucs.
Bowles, however, was fired that year and replaced by Adam Gase, widely considered to be one of the worst head coaches in modern NFL history. That, in and of itself, was a dereliction of duty on behalf of the Jets. Darnold spent 2019 and 2020 under Gase when both of them were then jettisoned from the franchise.
Here were Darnold’s top offensive weapons during his three seasons in New York. You decide whether or not this qualifies as failing a franchise quarterback.
2018: Bilal Powell (RB), Robbie Anderson (WR), Quincy Enuwa (WR), and Chris Herndon (TE).
2019: Le’Veon Bell (RB), Robbie Anderson (WR), Jamison Crowder (WR), and Ryan Griffin (TE).
2020: Frank Gore (RB), Jameson Crowder (WR), Breshad Perriman (WR), and Chris Herndon (TE).
The Vikings head into their Week 5 London matchup against Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets as 3-point favorites.