The Seattle Seahawks made a $100 million investment in quarterback Sam Darnold this offseason, but the nine-figure commitment might not be enough to guarantee him a spot in the starting lineup for the entire season.
Darnold is coming off a career-best season with the Minnesota Vikings and signed with the Seahawks to replace veteran Geno Smith. The Vikings also added rookie Jalen Milroe, who one analyst believes could pose a challenge to Darnold as the season goes on.
Seahawks Could Face Tough Decision
Aidin Ebrahimi of Rotoballer named Darnold among the quarterbacks who could potentially get benched during the upcoming NFL season, predicting that it could be difficult for him to replicate the career-best season he had with the Vikings in 2024.
Ebrahimi noted that Darnold joined a very small list of quarterbacks who have made the Pro Bowl for the first time in their seventh NFL season.
“On that list, only a handful went on to become MVP-caliber players (Steve Young and Rich Gannon), and a few others had solid second acts (such as Alex Smith, Ryan Tannehill, Trent Green, and Vinny Testaverde),” Ebrahimi wrote.
“But most of the players on that list were one-season wonders who almost immediately fell off after their Pro Bowl breakout (Jake Plummer, Steve Beuerlein, Elvis Grbac, Kordell Stewart, Steve Bono, and many others). As you can see, the odds are not in Darnold’s favor.”
Ebrahimi added that the Seahawks have a capable backup in Drew Lock and a promising rookie in Milroe, who could end up starting if the team falls out of playoff contention.
“If the team is sitting around .500 with no chance at making the playoffs near the end of the season, Milroe could get some starts and establish himself as the Seahawks’ QB of the future,” Ebrahimi wrote.
Seahawks Face Criticism Over Sam Darnold Decision
Even before training camp starts, the Seahawks are already fielding some criticism for their decision to move on from the steady Smith and sign Darnold. NFL insider Nick Wright criticized the signing, saying that Darnold has been a worse quarterback.
“Yeah, I don’t get this,” Wright said. “I don’t understand moving on from Geno (Smith) for a worse quarterback that’s just as expensive. I don’t get it.”
Darnold is coming off a season where he notched career highs by completing 66.2% of his passes for 4,319 yards with 35 touchdowns. He was thrust into the starting role after rookie J.J. McCarthy suffered a season-ending knee injury and ended up leading the Vikings to a 14-3 record, though the team collapsed down the final stretch.
The Vikings suffered a blowout loss to the Detroit Lions in the season finale with the NFC North title on the line, then stumbled again in a wild card loss to the Los Angeles Rams. The team’s offense struggled in both games, with Darnold saying he is hoping to rebound in 2025.
“For lack of a better term, we laid an egg as an offense,” Darnold told The Athletic’s Mike Silver. “And I think, for me personally, that sucks. I felt like we were a really good team, but at the end of the day — and this is gonna sound a little pessimistic — but when you get to the end of it and you don’t win the whole thing, you failed.A
