For most of the offseason, the public has tried to dissect why Sam Darnold chose to sign with the San Francisco 49ers. 

The Niners already have two quarterbacks that could be the future of the franchise: Trey Lance and Brock Purdy. And Darnold is coming off a stretch where he never found solid footing in Carolina, but still, the two sides found each other early in the free agency window, and the rest has been history. 

Recently, Darnold revealed the reason he chose San Francisco, and it was something that was relatively simple — openness. 

"Guys are open, I mean, there's a lot of guys open on dang near every play," Darnold said on the Pardon My Take podcast. "It just seems like there's a ton of answers. Great run game. I mean, whenever you can have a great run game as a quarterback, that's always a comforting feeling. I think just with the certain weapons that they have, you know, Deebo (Samuel), (Brandon) Aiyuk, George (Kittle), obviously Christian (McCaffrey), Juice (Kyle Juszczyk), Jauan Jennings, like there's so many guys you can go on and on."

The offensive system is one Darnold feels he can actually succeed in. He hopes he won't be seeing ghosts. And the still relatively young quarterback credits the Niners' head coach Kyle Shanahan for his scheme management abilities. 

"But they've been there for so long, and Kyle's been able to understand kind of what everyone does well, what they don't do well, and I feel like every game plan he uses gets the most out of his guys," Darnold said. "That's a very good feeling as a quarterback, knowing that the [coach] is going to put everyone in the best position possible."

In 2022 with the Carolina Panthers, Darnold took advantage of the playing time given. He racked up 1,143 passing yards with seven touchdowns and three interceptions. The Panthers went 4-2 with Darnold starting, demonstrating that he can be a reliable passer and scorer when given the opportunity.

Well, we will see if he will have that opportunity to prove himself again. 

Sam Darnold explains why he chose the 49ers over other options

Former Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold wanted the one thing he didn’t feel like he’s had to this point in his career.

Feature image via Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports.