New York Jets Ready for Sam Darnold Trade; Is He on His Way to the 49ers?

In his final season as New York Jets Head Coach, Adam Gase finished with a 2-14 record. The Jets were bottom of the AFC East for the second consecutive year leading to Gase’s sacking.

General Manager Joe Douglas brought in the highly-reputed former San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh as their new Head Coach ahead of the 2021 NFL season.

But what does that mean for the long-term future of Sam Darnold in New York? The former 1st-round pick ended his 2020 NFL campaign with 2,208 passing yards and 9 passing TDs against 11 interceptions.

The New York Jets own the 2nd-overall pick in the upcoming 2021 NFL Draft. With the likes of Justin Fields, Trey Lance, Zach Wilson and Mac Jones, up for grabs, Darnold could heading towards a swift exit this summer.

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Joe Douglas will entertain potential trade deals involving Sam Darnold

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Jets GM Joe Douglas accepted that he will be accepting calls in relation to Sam Darnold’s trade requests in the coming weeks.

“Our stance on Sam hasn’t changed. He’s an extremely talented player and he’s very smart, very tough. We have no doubt that Sam is gonna achieve his outstanding potential.

“Obviously, we’re in the process of gaining as much information as we can leading up through free agency and the draft but our stance on Sam has not changed,” Douglas said earlier this week.

The former USC player has a 13-25 record while playing for the Jets. He has thrown for 8,097 yards with 45 touchdowns in 38 starts for the New York-based franchise. He also has a concerning tally of 39 interceptions in 3 seasons with the Jets.

But San Francisco 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan could be tempted to bring in Darnold as cover for injury-prone Jimmy Garoppolo. Nick Mullens and CJ Beathard are the other two quarterbacks on their roster.

In Darnold, Shanahan gets a young quarterback with dual-threat potential. Jimmy G is often regarded as a ‘system quarterback’.

There will be major roadblocks to secure a potential trade deal for the California-born athlete.

But at just 23, Darnold is still a work in progress. Maybe a dynamic coach like Shanahan could be exactly what he needs in order to resurrect his fast-dying NFL career.

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