Sam Darnold Gets Good News After Leaving Vikings for Seahawks

While the Minnesota Vikings mull the possibility of signing Aaron Rodgers as the prominent veteran in their QB room, Sam Darnold is enjoying his position as the obvious starter for the Seattle Seahawks heading into the 2025 campaign.

And Darnold’s prospects for success in the Pacific Northwest got considerably better on Friday, March 14, when Seattle added star wide receiver Cooper Kupp to its ranks.

“Cooper Kupp is staying in the NFC West, agreeing to a three-year, $45 million deal with the Seahawks,” Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported via an X post.

Cooper Kupp Will Serve as Sam Darnold’s No. 1 Wide Receiver With Seahawks

GettyFormer Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp.

Kupp is initially from Washington and played collegiately at Eastern Washington University.

Some NFL analysts found the Seahawks’ decision to pay Darnold $100.5 million over three years curious considering that the team chose to release long-time wide receiver Tyler Lockett before trading DK Metcalf to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a second-round pick in next month’s draft.

However, Seattle still has Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who was the most productive slot receiver in the league last season, and now adds Kupp to the mix.

Kupp has caught 634 passes for 7,776 receiving yards and 57 TDs over the course of his eight-year career with the Los Angeles Rams. He won the NFL’s receiving triple crown during the 2021 campaign, leading the league with 145 catches for 1,947 yards and 16 scores. He went on to star for the Rams in the playoffs, capping off a title run with Super Bowl MVP honors in February 2022.

Kupp, who is entering his age-32 season in 2025, has dealt with injury issues in each of the three campaigns since. He has appeared in just 33 of 51 regular season contests since winning his Super Bowl ring and disappeared down the stretch last year after playing like one of the top wideouts in the league across nine games between September 8-December 8. He missed five contests over that span due to injury.

Seattle also has two quality running backs in Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet, rounding out what may still be an underrated skill-position group heading into 2025, even despite the acquisition of Kupp as Darnold’s new No. 1 target in the pass game.

Vikings Contemplate Replacing Sam Darnold With Aaron Rodgers

GettyFormer New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Meanwhile, the Vikings are contemplating precisely how to move into the post-Darnold era.

The team won 14 games last season and let both Darnold and Daniel Jones depart in free agency, leaving J.J. McCarthy as the likely starter heading into 2025. But in its search for a veteran QB to back up McCarthy, the team has stumbled into a tough call on Rodgers.

Rodgers is the prospective free-agent favorite of both the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants. However, he is holding off on making a decision until the Vikings tell him decisively they don’t want him in Minnesota to try and lead what is perhaps a Super Bowl-caliber roster outside of the QB position.

“Here’s what you need to know,” Russini posted to X Friday. “The Vikings are having discussions about what they want to do at quarterback and if they want Rodgers. Rodgers is giving them time and waiting to hear from Minnesota. The Vikings have yet to make a decision. We all wait.”