Sam Darnold trade a worthwhile gamble for Washington Football Team

The Washington Football Team is continuing its search for a quarterback and has been connected to several quarterbacks available on the free agent and trade market.

Next up for the team to have rumored interest in? Apparently, that would be Sam Darnold of the New York Jets.

According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, Tom Pelissero, and Ian Rapoport, Washington has been in on a couple of quarterbacks this offseason already and if Darnold is made available, they’re expected to be in on him.

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"While the team is open to a return for [Alex] Smith, it also made calls on [Matthew] Stafford and [Jared] Goff before they were traded. Expect them to weigh all QB options, including if Sam Darnold is made available. While plenty of teams have been calling the Jets on Darnold, there’s been no indication they would trade him. Yet."

Now, it’s important to note that this is just a rumor, but nonetheless, it would make sense for Washington to have an interest in Darnold. At the right price, he could be a good candidate to play well and benefit from a change of scenery.

So far during his career, Darnold has been a massive disappointment for the Jets. The former No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft has sputtered to a 13-25 record in 38 starts and has struggled with accuracy and turnovers. He has at least 11 picks in each of his three seasons and has a career completion rate of 59.8 percent.

But, Sam Darnold still has upside for the Washington Football Team

That said, Darnold has been the victim of bad coaching in two of his three NFL seasons. Adam Gase turned out to be a woeful hire by the New York Jets, and he never was able to help Darnold progress as a quarterback. He improved slightly in his first year under Gase but then regressed last year. Part of that falls on Darnold, but it is hard to overcome bad coaching at the NFL level, so Gase deserves a good chunk of the blame.

The Washington Football Team wouldn’t have the same problem. Ron Rivera is a rock-solid coach with a decade of experience, and while Scott Turner is still proving himself as an offensive coordinator, Turner did well enough with a dearth of weapons last year while starting four QBs. Darnold has the arm talent and mobility needed to fit Turner’s system, so if Washington got him and surrounded him with some weapons, perhaps Darnold could improve.

Speaking of weapons, it’s worth noting that Darnold has lacked receiving talent around him during his time with the team. His wide-outs have had trouble staying healthy and last year, the Jets let Robby Anderson walk in free agency, so Darnold was without one of his preferred targets. And in previous seasons, his blocking wasn’t very good. In short, the Jets never put a solid offense together around him.

Washington’s offense would likely qualify as better than that of the Jets. Terry McLaurin is better than any receiver that Darnold has ever worked with and Logan Thomas is a better tight end than what the Jets had. Add in Antonio Gibson, J.D. McKissic, and whatever No. 2 receiver Washington adds in the offseason, and Darnold will have enough to potentially reach his ceiling.

Darnold undeniably has upside. You could see that at times last year while playing for an awful Jets team. He might not be the solution at quarterback, but for the right price, he’s worth a shot.

So, what would that price be? Well, since Darnold is only under contract for two more seasons max (if you pick up his $25 million fifth-year option), and since he hasn’t yet proven himself at the NFL level, you can’t spend too much on him. But if all else fails and Washington wants to shoot for a lower-cost option with upside, sending a Day 2 pick — preferably one of their two third-round selections — the Jets way could make sense. And a late-round sweetener could be added if necessary, but it probably shouldn’t be.

Now, the rumor is that the Jets want a late first-round pick for Darnold, but that seems unlikely to happen. The team could still opt to keep Darnold, but if they fall in love with a QB at the No. 2 spot, it would make little sense to keep him when they could exchange him for an asset. So, the longer they hold Darnold, the more leverage they lose in any trade talks, especially if it becomes clear that the team is taking a QB.

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Darnold shouldn’t be the top option on Washington’s radar, but there is still untapped potential with him. Getting him would be a gamble worth taking — at the right price. If they can get a more proven quarterback, that would be a better option, but if not and they can’t get any of the five first-round QBs expected to be taken, then bringing Darnold aboard to fight for the starting job would be a worthwhile move.

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Sam Darnold trade would be worth the gamble for Washington Football Team

By Jacob Camenker | Feb 8, 2021

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But, Sam Darnold still has upside for the Washington Football Team