The San Francisco 49ers signing Sam Darnold was a bit of a surprise. It probably shouldn't have been, though. The team has liked the veteran quarterback for a while now. They did their homework on Darnold in 2018, leading to that draft, and flirted with the idea of trading for him in 2021 before the New York Jets sent him to the Carolina Panthers.
The 49ers came calling when Darnold hit free agency this month, signing the quarterback to a one-year deal. The team already has other young quarterbacks—Brock Purdy and Trey Lance—on its roster. However, it's worth noting that both are attempting to return from injuries. Lance suffered a season-ending ankle injury in September. Purdy is expected to be out until at least early September after undergoing surgery on March 10 to repair the tear of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow.
Darnold appears to be a nice insurance policy for the Niners. He's already started 55 games in the league.
What did Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers see in Darnold? Why didn't things work out for him in New York or Carolina? The head coach sat down with reporters on Tuesday at the NFL owners' meetings in Arizona and answered those questions.
"Sam has as good of a skill set as there is," Shanahan said. "That's why he went as the third pick in the draft. When you study his play, you can see it too. I don't think he's always been in the best situations, which is tough for quarterbacks. It's tough for all players, but it is one position, and it depends on the other ten guys around you too.
"And I think Sam has played and done some really good things in this league. [He] hasn't won a ton of games and been thrown in some situations where you're going to keep both teams in the game because you got to keep slinging that ball and give your team a chance to win. And so you don't always have the best stats, but you see the ability. And he's always had that ability since his first year in college when we started watching him, and there's no reason he can't do it.
"So I'm excited to get to know him as a person because I've always liked him as an athlete; I've always liked him as a prospect. I like how he throws; I like his athletic ability. Now, we're excited to get him with us, get to work, and see how he plays in our offense."
The New York Jets drafted Darnold (6-3, 225) out of USC with the No. 3 overall pick in 2018. He completed 82-of-140 attempts (58.6 percent) for 1,143 yards with seven touchdowns and three interceptions through six starts with the Panthers last season, per Pro Football Reference.