The Seattle Seahawks made the surprise decision to trade entrenched starter Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders and replace him with Sam Darnold on a three-year, $100.5 million deal. Darnold had a breakout season in 2024 after failing to impress over his first six years in the league.
New Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak is embracing the veteran passer’s arrival. “Sam’s extremely talented… Obviously, a great thrower of the football. His mobility sticks out, his toughness, his maturity,” Kubiak said of his new quarterback, per Brady Henderson of ESPN.
“The thing about Sam that really sticks out is he’s an A-plus teammate. He elevates those around him and the guys he plays with respect him because when your best players are your hardest workers, that’s what you really strive for. That’s what you want as a coach, and Sam has that in spades,” Kubiak added.
The Seahawks are betting on Sam Darnold
Darnold worked with Kubiak when they both ended up with the San Francisco 49ers for the 2023 season. The former third overall draft pick signed a one-year deal with San Francisco and beat out Trey Lance for the backup role behind Brock Purdy. Kubiak was hired as the 49ers passing game coordinator.
Both took big career steps in 2024 as Darnold established himself as a consistent starter with the Minnesota Vikings and Kubiak was promoted to offensive coordinator by the New Orleans Saints. Now they’ll reunite in Seattle.
The Seahawks’ offense will look very different in year two of head coach Mike Macdonald’s tenure. In addition to changing quarterbacks, the team traded wideout DK Metcalf to the Pittsburgh Steelers and released fan favorite Tyler Lockett.
The Seahawks did add veteran receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling on a one-year deal in free agency that is worth up to $5.5 million. MVS will join new number one wideout Jaxon Smith-Njigba as the team’s WR2 in Kubiak’s offense. Of course, the Seahawks will likely make further additions through free agency and the draft.
While the Smith trade has been universally panned, the Seahawks hope that Darnold can replicate his 2024 season. Last year he took over as the Vikings’ starter after a season-ending injury to rookie QB J.J. McCarthy. Darnold started all 17 games and completed 66.2 percent of his passes, throwing for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns with a 102.5 passer rating – all were easily career-highs.
