Did any of you Carolina Panthers fans watch Thursday night’s game and think “Man, we need ourselves some Jimmy Garoppolo?” Yeah, didn’t think so.
But the worldwide leader might have . . .
In a little imagining of how the 2022 quarterback carousel could spin, ESPN staff writer Bill Barnwell crafted together three distinct scenarios for the upcoming offseason. And one of those timelines (perhaps the worst possible one) has the Panthers acquiring good ol’ Jimmy G for a conditional 2023 draft pick.
“If the Panthers strike out in their moves to acquire a superstar under center, Garoppolo is a logical Plan B,” Barnwell writes. “We know that he has more upside than it might seem — the 49ers did make it to a Super Bowl with him, after all — and he wouldn’t preclude them from going after a quarterback in the 2023 draft. This would be a third-round pick in 2023 that could rise as high as the first round if Garoppolo plays 16 games and Carolina makes the playoffs.”
We’re still waiting, now at the end of year No. 5 as a starter, on that upside from Garoppolo—whose play hasn’t exactly been inspiring. Speaking of uninspiring, such a move would make Sam Darnold dispensable and lead to—as Barnwell further suggests—a trade to the New Orleans Saints for Carolina’s failed project.
The second scenario that involves the Panthers has Green Bay Packers backup Jordan Love packing his bags for Charlotte. This proposed deal would send the 2020 first-round pick over for the same price they got Darnold for—second and fourth-round selections.
“While Carolina has attempted to trade for star quarterbacks over the past two offseasons, this scenario would leave the market with none available,” he writes, leaving Aaron Rodgers with the Packers for the future. “The Panthers might not want to use another midround pick on a quarterback who isn’t a sure thing, but facing the horror of going into 2022 with Sam Darnold as their top option, Love would be a low-cost, high-upside alternative. They reportedly took a close look at Love before the 2020 draft.”
We got our first real look at Love this season in a spot-start for Rodgers. The 23-year-old, in his first career start, completed 19 of his 34 throws for 190 yards, a touchdown and an interception against the Kansas City Chiefs back in Week 9.
So, are you feeling the Love or would you rather shimmy with Jimmy? (We’ll see ourselves out now.)
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