RENTON – Sunday, two-thirds of the quarterback room for the Carolina Panthers in 2022 will hold a reunion at Lumen Field.
Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield – who combined to start 12 games for the Panthers that season – will do more than renew acquaintances before the Seahawks host Tampa Bay at Lumen Field at 1:05 p.m.
Their presence as leaders for two 3-1 teams, who guided teams to the playoffs last season, will serve as living, breathing cautionary tales about giving up on quarterbacks too soon.
They will also serve as the latest illustration of how tricky it is to evaluate players at football’s most important and complicated position.
“Sam and I are really close,” Mayfield said during his weekly news conference Wednesday. “I’m happy for him – from going a couple different places that weren’t great for us to having a good opportunity elsewhere, it’s fun to see. I knew he just needed that chance, and he’s thriving now. It’s good to see, but hopefully not this weekend.”
Darnold, 28, and Mayfield, 30, appeared to be high-round busts who might be getting the last chance to prove themselves when they competed for Carolina’s starting job in 2022 under head coach Matt Rhule.
The beleaguered Panthers were gambling that one of the two could revive their career and finally give Carolina a long-term quarterback to move on from the Cam Newton era.
Mayfield was named the starter late in camp as Darnold was dealing with a high ankle sprain that held him out until November.
When the Panthers started 1-4, Rhule was fired and Mayfield was benched in favor of PJ Walker with Darnold still ailing.
When that did not go any better, the team went back to Mayfield for one more start, a loss, before interim coach Steve Wilks decided to go with Darnold, who was finally healthy.
Mayfield asked for and was granted his release, eventually signing with the Rams, a humbling comedown for a player who was the top pick.
Darnold led the Panthers to four wins in their final six games, including a victory in Seattle, and to within a game of winning the NFC South, which went to Tampa Bay with an 8-9 record.
While the Panthers showed life late in that season under Darnold and Wilks, the Panthers decided to start over.
They hired Frank Reich as coach and made a trade to move up to the first pick in the draft and take Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young.
That left Mayfield – who didn’t re-sign with the Rams – and Darnold back on the street that offseason.
Intriguingly, both were mentioned that winter as possibilities for the Seahawks if they were unable to come to terms with Geno Smith. He was a free agent after leading the Seahawks to a 9-8 record and a wild-card playoff berth in 2022 following the trade of Russell Wilson to Denver.
Smith and the Seahawks agreed to a three-year deal on March 6, which left Darnold to sign a one-year deal with the 49ers seven days later and Mayfield to sign a one-year deal worth just $4 million nine days later with the Bucs, who needed a successor to the retired Tom Brady.
Mayfield, who went 1-5 in Carolina in 2022, has gone 22-16 with the Bucs, leading them to two playoff appearances in two years, while throwing the most touchdown passes of anyone in the NFL (77) and the second-most passing yards (9,448).
After a year backing up Brock Purdy as the 49ers advanced to the Super Bowl in 2023, Darnold spent last season guiding the Vikings to a 14-3 record and has the Seahawks off to a 3-1 mark, landing in Seattle in March after the trade of Smith to the Raiders.
Darnold, who went 8-9 in two years with the Panthers, has gone 17-5 as a starter since.
Carolina has gone 8-30 since the 2022 season, with Young still struggling to find his footing – the Panthers are 7-25 with Young as a starter.
Asked if he and Darnold ever reminisce about the good old days, the never-shy Mayfield responded: “Uh, reminisce about what days?” After a pause he added, “No, we don’t.”
Darnold, who has a reputation for having a more reserved public persona than Mayfield, was predictably more diplomatic Thursday when asked about his time in Carolina.
“That year in Carolina that we spent together, that was a special year just being able to spend it with Bake and that entire quarterback room that we had,” said Darnold, who in contrast to Mayfield generally stays clear of saying he is trying to prove anything to teams who have let him go. “… For me, I come in here every single day, I do my job, and whatever I think about people or places at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter to me. It’s just about me going out there and doing my job every single play.”
Seahawks receiver Cooper Kupp played with Mayfield late in the 2022 season and said Wednesday: “I’m super happy for him. Whatever people want to say about him, he’s gone and been Baker Mayfield. And so pretty cool career arc for him.”
Kupp has spoken similarly of Darnold, now his QB with the Seahawks.
To Kupp, the larger lesson may be that NFL teams need to give QBs more time to mature.
As he could have noted, the Browns have yet to find any stability at QB since moving on from Mayfield, nor have the Jets since trading Darnold, despite their move two years ago to trade for Aaron Rodgers.
“Yeah, I could give you a dissertation on what I think about the whole quarterback position,” Kupp said. “… In short, I do think the plugs get pulled on guys a little early. And you’ve got to give guys the ability to learn, make mistakes and truly give guys the freedom to make mistakes.
“I think the best quarterbacks in this league have been in positions early on where they can grow into that and make those mistakes behind the scenes, or they’re given a position to go out there and learn and let it fly. And (when) coaches have said it doesn’t matter – I’m secure in myself. We’re secure enough to trust that you’re going to be able to figure these things out. I think those guys flourish if you just let them get to that place.”
Darnold and Mayfield have finally gotten there, a road that Sunday brings them to Seattle.