Sam Darnold’s days as a starting quarterback may be numbered after the Carolina Panthers’ recent acquisition of Baker Mayfield. The 25-year-old has produced lackluster numbers with the Jets and Panthers over his four-year career, a trend his longtime wide receiver attributes to the former’s mishandling of him.
Robbie Anderson recently appeared on the “I Am Athlete” podcast, where he defended Darnold and bashed the organization that kickstarted both of their careers. When the duo first took the field together in 2018, Anderson felt as though his signal-caller wasn’t ready.
“I will say this with Sam though, I feel like his development was all messed up coming into the league,” Anderson said. “Look at Pat [Mahomes] and look at Lamar [Jackson], they ain’t play right away. I don’t feel like Sam should have played right away so … I feel like his career got jump-started the wrong way.”
According to Anderson, the Jets coaches and front office did little to help their ailing quarterback.
“I feel like being in the building, the coaches … it wasn’t right,” he continued. “So in his defense, I don’t feel like he was developed 100% correctly.”
Darnold’s tenure in New York came at a time of head coach upheaval, hardly allowing the young pass-slinger to gain his footing in the NFL.
The USC product’s rookie season ended unceremoniously when the team fired Todd Bowles, who was largely used as a scapegoat for Darnold’s struggles due to his defense-oriented coaching style. Adam Gase – the supposed “quarterback guru” who took Bowles’ place – failed to mold Darnold into a formidable quarterback, ultimately leaving the Jets after just two seasons with a 9-23 record.
The Jets eventually traded Darnold to Carolina last offseason, where he continued to struggle. In 11 games at the helm last season, he threw 13 interceptions compared to just nine touchdowns and was sidelined for a month with a shoulder injury.
Despite Darnold’s uninspiring play, Anderson still has his quarterback’s back, as has been the case throughout his career. When rumors of a Mayfield-Panthers union ramped up earlier this year, Anderson appeared to voice his disapproval on social media — a comment the wide receiver now says wasn’t intended to be disrespectful to his new teammate.
“I felt like when I was doing that, that was in defense of Sam, because I feel like at the end of the day me and Sam do have chemistry,” Anderson said. “It wasn’t no disrespect to him or nothing … it was just really in defense of who my quarterback is right now.”
It remains to be seen who Anderson will be catching passes from this season.
