Many media outlets rank the Panthers between the 30th and 32nd in the league. The main reason for the low ranking is the uncertainty of the QB position. The GM Scott Fitterer recently said in a press conference that "the team intends to add a QB before training camp" but he will not say how they intend to acquire said QB. Today I will talk about the five potential options they have at starter.
1st Option: Sam Darnold, you didn't trade prime picks for the former 3rd overall pick for nothing. Darnold is still on his rookie contract, his last year of the deal, but nevertheless you opted in to his fifth year option without ever seeing him take a snap for the franchise. Darnold should be the starter to start the season based off of assets given up alone.
2nd Option: Cam Newton, he is the best QB that your franchise has ever had and he is still available for cheap. You have nothing to lose as a franchise bringing him back, but you might cause the locker room to turn on the coach. Which might not be a bad thing. But if you know that Sam can't be 'The Guy' in Carolina why not bring some excitement into Bank of America Stadium.
3rd Option: Matt Corral, the third round pick from this years draft. Corral lit up the stat sheet while at Ole Miss, but they don't run a pro style offense under Lane Kiffin so who knows how he will take to the NFL. I would personally love Corral to get a shot but Matt Rhule doesn't seem to take risks that he doesn't have to. Bringing in a veteran like Fitterer said would make Corral's transition easier but wouldn't necessarily make him game ready.
4th Option: Baker Mayfield: a long shot because of the draft capital you have to give up, but a viable option at QB especially while his stock is low. The question is if Cleveland will give him up before knowing the full extent of a potential suspension for Deshaun Watson. The Browns will demand at least one first round pick if not two and if Carolina deems his worth to be higher than that expect them to jump at the opportunity.
5th Option: Jimmy Garoppolo, he is a fine QB when everything around him is perfect and this Carolina team is far from that. They have good pieces at runningback and wide out but their O-line is suspect and they have no valuable tight end on the roster. And their defense is too young to determine anything about the unit as a whole. Jimmy could be that veteran guy for Corral but I think San Fran sees him as a veteran leader for Trey Lance on their own team, so the asking price is the deciding factor, same as Baker.
HM: Jordan Love, but for this to happen Love needs to make a stink in Green Bay and demand a trade and the Panthers would have to give up a ton of picks.
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