Panthers QB Sam Darnold focusing on improving amid constant trade rumors

Trade rumors linking the Carolina Panthers with veteran quarterbacks such as Baker Mayfield of the Cleveland Browns and Jimmy Garoppolo of the San Francisco 49ers haven't quieted down during Carolina's mandatory minicamp. 

Shortly after one report relayed that Carolina head coach Matt Rhule "seems to be warming to the idea of rolling with" Sam Darnold and third-round draft pick Matt Corral as his top options at the position, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports tweeted there was "urgency" within the Panthers to acquire Mayfield as soon as possible so the 27-year-old could join the team before minicamp breaks. 

What's known for sure as of Wednesday afternoon is that neither Mayfield nor Garoppolo have been traded or released. That leaves Darnold atop the Carolina depth chart, for now, and he spoke with reporters about concentrating only on what he can control ahead of the summer months. 

"I’m just going to continue to focus on what I need to, develop as I can as a quarterback," Darnold explained, according to Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. "Like I mentioned before, learn the system. If I focus on anything other than that, it wouldn’t be smart of me to do that." 

Darnold failed to impress when on the field last season and, per ESPN stats, ended the campaign 29th among eligible signal-callers with a 71.9 passer rating and a 33.2 total QBR. He also recorded a paltry nine touchdown passes to go along with 13 interceptions. 

Thus, it's understandable more than a few Carolina fans want the club to acquire an upgrade over the 25-year-old before meaningful games get underway in September.