The NY Jets have officially won the Sam Darnold trade

The honeymoon is over for Sam Darnold in Carolina. In reality, this was always the expected outcome when the NY Jets shipped their former franchise savior to the Panthers this offseason.

It was a move that was highly controversial at the time, but now one that looks pretty straightforward a couple of months into the season.

The Jets made the right decision moving on from Sam Darnold. Many of us already believed that some eight months ago, but for those who still held out hope that Darnold would revitalize his career in Carolina, it's safe to say we've probably reached the point of no return.

Darnold returned from a concussion in Week 9 and put together another disastrous performance against the New England Patriots finishing 16-of-33 for 172 yards, zero touchdowns, and three interceptions.

Patriots quarterback Mac Jones only completed 12 passes for 139 yards, but it didn't matter. Darnold's implosion allowed New England to completely blow out their opposition, winning by a final score of 24-6.

It's time for the Panthers to pull the plug on the Darnold experiment.

It's safe to say the NY Jets made the right decision moving on from Sam Darnold

It didn't take long for the narrative around Darnold to flip. After the first three weeks of the season, Darnold looked like a competent NFL quarterback, albeit one who was being aided significantly by the presence of star running back Christian McCaffrey.

His stat lines were flattering, but for the most part, Darnold was playing mistake-free football and doing exactly what the Panthers asked of him. Unfortunately, the hype generated by those few decent outings proved to be his undoing.

With McCaffrey sidelined, Darnold floundered and regressed to the same version that we had seen last season. Nothing had changed. Darnold was still broken.

He hasn't scored a touchdown in nearly a month. In his last five starts, Darnold has thrown eight interceptions to just two touchdowns. He's single-handily held back a Panthers team that should be much better than they currently are.

This Sunday's game might have been the final straw for Darnold who was seen visibly shaken on the sideline, not too dissimilar from his demeanor in the infamous "seeing ghosts" game against the Patriots during his time in New York.

Longtime teammate Robby Anderson was later seen verbally dressing down his quarterback on the sideline. The fans in attendance at Bank of America Stadium damn near booed Darnold out of the building.

It was embarrassing. There's really no reality where the Panthers could trot Darnold out for another start, especially with a road matchup against the Arizona Cardinals on tap next week.

Every game that Darnold starts only continues to make the trade look worse for Carolina. Not only that, but his struggles are making those draft picks even more valuable.

Sam Darnold is the same quarterback in Carolina that he was in New York. We could discuss for days why he is the player that he is, but none of that matters.

The result is the same. Sam Darnold is broken. The Jets were right to cut bait when they did.