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Sam Darnold's NFL career hasn't gone as expected for a top-five quarterback, yet even he thought the team that drafted him gave up on him too soon. Three years after the New York Jets made Darnold the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, they traded him to the Carolina Panthers and hit the reset button with Zach Wilson

Darnold admitted on the "Bussin' with the Boys' podcast with Tennessee Titans tackle Taylor Lewan the Jets "made a mistake" by trading him to the Panthers. 

"At the end of the day, it's not my call," Darnold said. "If they don't think I'm the guy, it is what it is.

"I have enough security in myself where I can say, 'I know I'm a good quarterback. I know I can be a good quarterback in this league. I've proved it. And I know there's a team, if something happens, that would want me.'"

Darnold didn't prove the Jets wrong in his first year with the Panthers, completing 59.9% of his passes for 2,527 yards with nine touchdowns to 13 interceptions for a 71.9 passer rating, as Carolina went 4-7 in his starts. He finished 31st in touchdown passes, 30th in completion percentage, 30th in yards per attempt (6.2), and 31st in passer rating.

His last season with the Jets wasn't any better. Darnold had his worst season in the NFL in 2020, completing just 59.6% of his passes for 2,208 yards and nine touchdowns to 11 interceptions for a 72.7 passer rating. Of 35 qualified quarterbacks, Darnold ranked 33rd in completion percentage, 32nd in touchdown percentage (2.5), sixth in interception percentage (3.0), 32nd in yards per attempt (6.1) and 35th in quarterback rating. 

Of the 24 quarterbacks with 1,000 pass attempts from 2018 through 2020, Darnold was last in passer rating (78.6), last in completion percentage (59.8%), last in passing touchdowns (45), and last in yards per attempt (6.64). Those were Darnold's three years with the Jets. 

The criticism has bothered Darnold over the years, even if he's admitted to handle it better since the trade. 

"The part that pisses me is off is when people judge my game, like how I'm playing," Darnold said. "I'm like, 'Go strap it up. You're a fan and I respect you as a fan. You can talk all the shit you want, I'm not going to do anything at the end of the day, but take it easy.'

"What if I was like, 'The house you just worked on, piece of shit. You're so bad at tiling. You should really go get another job. Really think about your profession.' Sometimes you want to say stuff like that, but you can't."