When Sam Darnold returned under center for the Carolina Panthers, he came back with more than just a new mindset. He also came back with a new look.
Bearded Sam Darnold is taking the team’s fan base by storm. From tweets, to memes and, oh, a couple of wins—the fifth-year quarterback has begun to endear himself to the Carolina faithful once again.
So, after Wednesday’s practice, ESPN’s David Newton asked Darnold if the beard is here to stay. He was non-committal about it.
“No plans,” he said. “This is a day-to-day process. We’ll keep it that way. No plans moving forward, but like I said—we’ll see.”
Newton then asked Darnold if his family likes the fiery new fuzz.
“Right now, it doesn’t really matter what they like,” he replied with a smile. “It’s however we can continue to win games and for us right now, we got a little two-game streak going. So, I’ll probably keep it.”
That little two-game winning streak has seen a drastic difference from the offense—one that averaged 26.5 points, 339.0 total yards and a passer rating from Darnold of 93.6 over that pair of victories. In the 11 games prior to his comeback, the Panthers went 3-8—averaging 18.8 points, 286.1 yards and a 74.7 passer rating.
According to Darnold, the beard may be staying if Carolina continues to win—even if it’s by a hair or two. And that means they’ll be playing for more than just the division title in this final four-game stretch.
