Former Carolina Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold. Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

QB Sam Darnold explains why he signed with 49ers

By Adam Gretz | Last updated 7/15/23

After struggling to find a permanent spot with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers over the first five years of his career, Sam Darnold is hoping to stick with the San Francisco 49ers after signing with the team in free agency this summer.

He appeared on the Pardon My Take podcast this week and explained what it was about the 49ers that stood out to him during his time as a free agent.

The simple answer — wide receivers are open. A lot.

From NFL.com:

"Guys are open, I mean, there's a lot of guys open on dang near every play," Darnold said on the Pardon My Take podcast. "It just seems like there's a ton of answers. Great run game. I mean, whenever you can have a great run game as a quarterback, that's always a comforting feeling. I think just with the certain weapons that they have, you know, Deebo (Samuel), (Brandon) Aiyuk, George (Kittle), obviously Christian (McCaffrey), Juice (Kyle Juszczyk), Jauan Jennings, like there's so many guys you can go on and on."

Darnold and the 49ers are a fascinating duo.

The 49ers have what might be the best roster in the league at almost every position, boasting one of the league's most dominant defenses and an offense loaded with skill position players.

The only position that is a major question mark is at quarterback.

Brock Purdy is expected to be the starter as soon as he is healthy, but there is still some doubt that he will be ready for the season opener. He also has just seven games at the NFL level on his resume and remains relatively unproven.

They also have Trey Lance, a former top-three draft pick that the 49ers paid a massive price to acquire and has yet to show that he can be an NFL quarterback, mainly due to injury.

And then there is Darnold, a bust with the Jets that also struggled to find consistency with Carolina.

It's not exactly the quarterback room you would expect for a Super Bowl contender. But the 49ers are so good that they might be able to make it work.

It will also be interesting to see what Darnold could do with this roster if he had an opportunity to play. This would be — by far — the best offense he has ever had around him. Maybe that and a strong coaching staff led by Kyle Shanahan could help him get his career back on track.

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