Will Move To Smaller Market Help Panthers' Sam Darnold Turn His Career Around? | Eastern NC Now

Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of ESPN. The author of this post is David Newton.


    CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As much as Carolina Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold seemed to embrace the New York City spotlight that turned Joe Namath into "Broadway Joe,'' the spotlight can take its toll when you're not succeeding. It can swallow you up and spit you out like a failed Wall Street stockbroker.

    Darnold, 24, failed. He went 13-25 as a starter for the New York Jets after being selected with the third pick in the 2018 draft. He completed only 59.8 percent of his pass attempts and threw almost as many interceptions (39) as he did touchdowns (45).

    So the Jets split with Darnold and traded him to Carolina, where for many years the fan base was known as a "wine-and-cheese" crowd, more laid back at games more for the experience and not the most enthusiastic in terms of creating a home-field advantage.

    Several former Carolina quarterbacks who are familiar with going from a large market to a smaller one — New York is the largest market in the country, Charlotte ranks 22nd — believe the change will be good for Darnold. They agree there will be fewer demands on his time and more time to spend on football and enjoying life.

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    Read the full article HERE on ESPN.