After Seattle traded away wide receiver DK Metcalf to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the number 14 suddenly became available for usage. Naturally, everyone sort of felt like that would eventually go to Darnold, who has worn No. 14 with all four previous teams he's played for in this league, as well as what he wore when he was the USC quarterback.

The only way to justify swapping Geno Smith for Darnold in the name of saving money is to reallocate those funds to help the QB.