-
Brady Henderson
Renton, Washington. – Sam Darnold was almost 14 minutes at his introductory press conference at the Seattle Seahawks headquarters on Thursday when he received the question he knew he would come.
What did you learn from the disappointing end of its resurgual season with the Minnesota Vikings?
“I was waiting for someone to mention that,” Darnold said as he was flanked on stage by coach Mike Macdonald and the offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. “I appreciate that.
“No, it’s fair, man. You’ve reached that point, you have the season we had offensively, as a team, and then you find yourself at the end of the day. Only a team can win the Super Bowl and unfortunately we weren’t that team.”
Darnold and the Vikings seemed prepared for a deep playoff race until the wheels of their Pro Bowl season began to release themselves in week 18, when he completed only 18 of 41 attempts in a defeat 31-9 against the Detroit Lions. A week later, he was fired nine times in a 27-9 defeat against the Los Angeles Rams in the Commodines Round.
Darnold had launched 35 TouchDown passes on the first 16 games, just to launch one on the last two.
“I think I could get the ball a little faster in some of the recoil things we had those last two games and understanding where the points of sale are and even if a boy is covered, even if my back is covered in a check -up, simply throwing him at his feet,” he said. “I feel that I was taking some unnecessary captures last year, especially those last games … I will definitely be thinking about that, keeping two hands on the ball in my pocket at all times. Just do all the small fundamental things, but that is a great, it is to simply be able to take the ball on time.”
Darnold will seek to apply that lesson in Seattle under Kubiak. He said that his relationship with the newly hired coordinator of Seattle and the familiarity with his scheme was “definitely” a factor in his decision to join Seahawks in a three -year agreement that includes $ 55 million guaranteed. Darnold was Brock Purdy’s backup in 2023 when Kubiak was the coordinator of the 49ers passes game. He had bounced from the New York Jets, who recruited him third in 2018, the Carolina Panthers and then to San Francisco.
“Sam is extremely talented,” Kubiak said. “Obviously, a great football pitcher. His mobility stands out, his hardness, his maturity. What refers to Sam that really stands out is that he is a teammate A. elevates those around him and the boys with whom he plays with him because when your best players are your toughest workers, that is really what you really strive. That is what you want as coach and Sam has that in swords.”
The Vikings were interested in bringing Darnold back, but did not use the franchise label, with the tenth general selection last year, JJ McCarthy, returning from the serious knee injury that left him aside during the entire rookie season. He asked Darnold where his head was after the season with respect to a possible return to Minnesota versus a desire to reach free agency.
“We were looking at all the possibilities, to be honest,” he said. “Very happy that all roads lead to Seattle.”
Darnold began to see that as a possibility when news was broken last Friday that the Seahawks had changed Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders for a third round selection. Talking to journalists after Darnold’s press conference, General Manager John Schneider said the Seahawks offered Smith an extension, and that they focused on an exchange when it became evident that they could not make an agreement.
“It was an interesting series of events, sure,” Macdonald said. “But when it became evident that we had to get away from Geno, I definitely expected that I was going to land with Sam. There was some time there. All those involved in the process were incredible … There were some great field marshals out there, but it was really evident that Sam was our guy.”
Macdonald had a close look at Darnold at the end of last season in Lumen Field, when the last of his three TouchDown passes, a 39-yard coup for Justin Jefferson with four remaining minutes, gave the Vikings a 27-24 victory over Seattle. It was one of the five winning units of the game that led in 2024.
At a cheerful moment, Darnold used a question about that performance to subtly rub it on the face of his new coach.
“I’m excited to talk about this,” he joked. “How long do we have?”
Darnold noticed his other victory at the Seahawks Local Stadium, a 30-24 victory with the Carolina Panthers in 2022. That was part of his 4-2 record as his headline after taking care of the last six games. The 49ers also defeated Seattle Seattle the following year, while Darnold supported Purdy.
Now he is back in the NFC West, which means annual meetings with the team that fired him nine times, finished his rebound season with the Vikings and sent it to Seattle with some important lessons learned.
“Let’s see the two times a year, obviously, playing in this division,” Darnold said. “I’m really looking forward to that.”
