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Sam Darnold can dig his heels into the Charlotte area this offseason, because he doesn't necessarily have to worry about playing anywhere else when 2022 rolls around. The Carolina Panthers executed his fifth-year option, the team announced, pulling the trigger shortly after the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft concluded. In doing so, Darnold will earn $18.9 million in 2022, a sum that is now fully guaranteed thanks to new legislation in the collective bargaining agreement. Carolina is also retaining a key weapon for Darnold in receiver DJ Moore, whose fifth-year option was also picked up.

The former No. 3 overall pick was told the Panthers were planning to secure him through next season after they sent the New York Jets a 2021 sixth-round pick along with a second- and fourth-round pick in 2022 to land him in early April, a trade that was disappointing to Darnold by way of falling short of his intended goal in New York; but equally exciting for what he felt awaited him in Carolina.

"My expectations were to go in [New York] and play 20 years," Darnold said, via The New York Daily News. "And [to also] win Super Bowls -- that was the dream going in there. Obviously, it didn't work out. Just thankful for the opportunity that organization gave me the three years that I was with them.

"I always thought that I could make it work in New York, just being honest -- I really did. My goal never changed even though there was speculation about me getting traded. I always believed that I can make it work and that we were going to get pieces and just win some games in New York and can go to the playoffs, and eventually win a Super Bowl."

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It's fair to wonder, however, why the Panthers didn't immediately exercise the option.

They had weeks to do so and, if you'll notice the obvious, didn't do so until the conclusion of Day 1 in Cleveland. That's because, up to that point, the Panthers hadn't ruled out the possibility if selecting a quarterback in the first round. It wasn't until they selected cornerback Jaycee Horn with the No. 8 pick that Darnold's future was truly secured, after the Panthers had reportedly entertained the idea of potentially moving up from that spot. In the end, they chose not to, and grabbed one of the best defensive backs in the draft before circling back to honor their original plan for Darnold.

There's still a chance the club would select a QB before the draft is over but for now, and seeing as Teddy Bridgewater has now been traded to the Denver Broncos, the role of QB1 unequivocally belongs to Darnold until further notice.