LOS ANGELES – Speculation is rife every day about what will happen to Sam Darnold. Will he still play with the Jets in 2021? Will he be traded? Everyone wants to know.
Meanwhile, the topic of the endless sports radio discussion is quietly about his off-season at home in Southern California.
According to close confidants, Darnold, who has been in a Jets career for three years, has been anything but a success since becoming No. 1 in 2018. 3-overall set up, his career uncertainty deals with the same equal maturity he dealt with. -field adversity.
Jordan Palmer is a longtime friend of Darnold’s, and he’s also his coach on the field this season.
Palmer, in an exclusive interview with The Post during a break from one of his beach workouts this past weekend in Dana Point, California, remains highly positive about Darnold’s career.
‘I’m as biased as it gets, but I’m going to keep it [bleeping] here: at this stage of his career, I have more confidence in Sam that he will reach his potential than I did three years ago, ” Palmer said. ‘He was hardened about how difficult his first three years were and about the challenges he faced. I saw him grow a ton with it with the way he handled it.
“These are new situations for him. He was not yet in a team that did not win. He has always been a very good player in a very good team. And that’s not how the first three years with the Jets shook.
“I believe Sam is one of the most talented young backs in the league, and like all good, talented backs, he needs to have a great off-season and he needs to improve.”
Palmer praised how Darnold ended the past two seasons, going 6-2 in the last eight games of 2019 after the team started 1-7 and started last season 2-1 to 0-13.
“My logo is a crest, a mountain range,” Palmer said. “This is your journey. I have not seen a single quarter go right from top to bottom – perfect, great, in the end you get the championship and all the money and congratulations. What guys need to do is navigate their journey. ‘
Former Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez is another confidant of Darnold, who was also trained by Palmer and still works for him. Sanchez said his interest in the Jets remains strong “because of Sam.”
“He’s my neighbor, I love the child and I want him to do well … and he’s in danger,” Sanchez told The Post. ‘I was literally where he was – a built up shoulder, trying to fight through injuries, he plays, he does not play? We have similar situations – two children who grew up right in the street of each other. ‘
The arc of Sanchez’s career has so far been the opposite of Darnold’s, as Sanchez had his best success early on and struggled later. Sanchez’s hope is that Darnold’s career is a reverse version of him.
“We have entered two different teams in the league,” Sanchez said. ‘Sam was ranked high because the team was not good the previous year. I was ranked high because they traded for me and they were 9-7 the year before I got there. So I had to go to a team that had a lot of talent and a good attack. ‘
Sanchez said he was constantly “giving some of my advice” to Darnold and reminded him, “Dude, I’m here for you. ‘
Sanchez, like Palmer, is convinced that Darnold’s best football is ahead of him, but he believes it could be best with a change in scenery. Sanchez lived in a Jets world where perceptions are cemented among the fans and cannot be survived.
However, Sanchez believes Darnold wants to stay with the Jets, his fresh start with the new coaching regime, head coach Robert Saleh, and offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur.
Palmer was torn on the subject.
‘Part of me wants Sam to finish what he started and get it right, and part of me wants to see him get some scenery because I’ve seen it work so well for others, ” Palmer said. ‘This league is a right-place-right-time-league and a wrong-place-wrong-time-league. The right man in the right situation has a chance to be at the end.
“It just hasn’t happened to Sam yet, and it will. And I can honestly say that the right place-right time could be with the Jets this year. Or it could be somewhere else. ‘