The San Francisco 49ers' link to Sam Darnold extends back to the 2018 NFL Draft
The San Francisco 49ers signed Sam Darnold last week, but the organization’s link to the now-veteran signal caller dates back to the 2018 NFL Draft.
When the San Francisco 49ers signed former Carolina Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold, general manager John Lynch had minimal catching up to do regarding Darnold's skill.
He's studied the quarterback before.
The 49ers were one of the teams that evaluated Darnold heavily during the 2018 NFL Draft. And when Darnold was on the trade block in 2021, the front office evaluated his skill set again. Finally, in 2023, Lynch added Darnold to his quarterback room as a backup depth piece while uncertainty remains around Brock Purdy and Trey Lance.
"I feel we've studied him forever," Lynch said at Stanford's pro day. "He kind of was craving what we could provide: a really cool structure on offense that's tailor-made for his skill set… That's what he bought into. We're excited about Sam."
It is interesting to hear a general manager say they are excited about a quarterback that is on their third team in five seasons.
Darnold hasn't been great at any of his previous stops. But he wasn't exactly gifted a great hand. He first played for the New York Jets. That didn't last long. He found himself on the Panthers with two years left on his deal (fifth-year option included). And during his tenure there, the Panthers lost far more than they won.
His best stretch of quarterback play came in the final weeks with the Panthers. Darnold cut down on turnovers, one of the issues that plagued his stat sheets over the early years. He brought Carolina back into playoff contention when he returned as the starter in Week 12. And before Carolina was eliminated, he put together a respectable stat line: a near-62 percent completion rate, 220 passing yards per game, seven TDs, and just one interception. He also added 74 yards and two rushing touchdowns.
Darnold is now trying to bottle that small success and channel it into a 49ers team that may need him sooner rather than later.
"I think, for me, it's really coming in here and doing everything that I can to understand the offense," Darnold said last week. "I know I have my work cut out for me when it comes to that.
"So I think that's just my focus right now, is doing whatever I can to help this team win games when it comes time to do that, whether that's me being the backup or starting. And that's my mindset."
Turns out Darnold's mindset is what the 49ers and Lynch couldn't help but love.
