The Seattle Seahawks made some interesting moves this offseason. They traded Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders and brought in Sam Darnold to be their starting quarterback instead in a move that many seem to think will backfire.
It's not surprising why that's the case. After all, before his bounce back year with the Vikings in 2024, Darnold was most known for "seeing ghosts" in a Monday night game when he was still with the Jets, the team that spent a first-round pick on him in 2018. Darnold flamed out in Carolina and then was relegated to a backup role in San Francisco before joining the Vikings and being thrust into a starting role when rookie J.J. McCarthy went down.
If it weren't for Darnold's resurgence in Minnesota, he's probably not with the Seahawks right now, at least not as a starting quarterback. Dan Graziano is one of the many people who questions if Darnold is starting-caliber after one good year, asking "What happens if the Sam Darnold resurrection wasn't real?" in his latest ESPN column.
"The somewhat tepid market for Darnold in free agency indicates that there was a fair bit of skepticism around the league about the sustainability of his breakout 2024 season. Seattle got a pretty nice deal -- three years, $100.5 million and just $37.5 million guaranteed -- and if Darnold does play the way he did in Minnesota, it'll look like a massive steal. If Darnold reverts to the jittery, turnover-prone ways of his early career, Seattle is likely in for a rough campaign. But at least the Seahawks aren't committed to him beyond this season."
Sam Darnold continues to be doubted heading into 2025
Again, Seahawks fans shouldn't be offended by these sorts of comments. Darnold has only had one good year since he entered the NFL in 2018 and he's no longer with the head coach that helped him put together that magical year. Truthfully, it'd be weird if people didn't question how good he'd be this season.
The only way Darnold can silence the haters/doubters is to continue to play well. He had some bad games with the Vikings last year but those seemed to happen against the really good teams and on the brightest stages. Will that continue to be a trend for Darnold with his new team?
As Graziano pointed out, the Seahawks are only truly committed to Darnold for this year and then can get out of his contract. If the experiment goes poorly, they can turn the page to either Jalen Milroe or whoever else they want in the driver's seat in 2026. For now though, Seahawks fans better get used to hearing the haters doubt Darnold's ability to lead the team to success.
