It doesn’t seem like a couple of former Carolina Panthers helped bring Sam Darnold to The Bay. Nonetheless, the 25-year-old quarterback is ready for a reunion.
Darnold, who agreed to a one-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers, answered a few questions about his Charlotte connections during his introductory press conference on Thursday. But he told reporters that he didn’t have much dialogue with former interim head coach Steve Wilks and running back Christian McCaffrey about their new digs.
“Yeah, didn’t talk to Steve very much,” he said. “Had conversations with Christian. Not too much free agency talk. Just more conversations about life.”
Darnold and McCaffrey developed a strong bond almost immediately in Charlotte, even despite being collegiate rivals. Heck, the California kids shared a double birthday celebration before taking a single snap together.
And now, they can celebrate with a reunion—one of the many things Darnold is looking forward to in San Francisco.
“Christian’s a great dude,” he’d later state. “We became good friends in Charlotte . . . or in Carolina, I should say. Obviously, created a really good bond with Coach Wilks as well throughout the last half of the season in Carolina. Just excited. Excited to be able to work with Christian again and obviously with Coach Wilks. I don’t know if I can say I’m excited enough during this press conference—but, yeah, excited to get to work.”
