Seahawks’ new $100M QB Sam Darnold learns from his Vikings end--and the last pick in draft
The Sam Darnold the Seahawks are getting?
He says it’s far better than the quarterback the Jets got.
It’s more refined and smarter than what and who the Panthers, 49ers and even the Vikings his wondrous 2024 season got, too.
He thanks...Brock Purdy?
The last pick in the 2022 NFL draft?
“I think you learn from experience, good or bad,” Seattle’s new franchise quarterback said Thursday, minutes after he signed his three-year free-agent contract with $55 million guaranteed. “I learned a ton being in New York. Learned a ton being in Carolina. Learned a ton obviously going to San Francisco, and Klint (Kubiak, then in 2023 a 49ers passing-game coordinator and now Seattle’s new offensive coordinator) was a huge part of that.
“And...I really thank Brock a ton, Brock Purdy,” Darnold said.
Purdy, 1 1/2 years Darnold’s junior, was San Francisco’s starting quarterback. Darnold sat behind him on the 49ers two seasons ago.
Darnold credits Purdy for changing his approach to playing quarterback. To not trying to be “The Guy.” To not just taking off running when pass rushers crashed in, coverage was tight and plays broke down.
Darnold said he relied on just running when that happened at USC. When he tried to do that his first years in the NFL with the Jets and Panthers, he found he wasn’t fast or skilled enough to get away and make plays by himself in this league.
“Just his style of play and how he described his style as: ‘We’ve got a ton of great playmakers on offense. Like, my job is just to play point guard and get the ball in their hands and let them go do great things with the rock,’” Darnold said of Purdy.
For Darnold, the third pick in the 2016 draft by the Jets, it was an epiphany. After five, mostly failed seasons for New York and Carolina, he had a new approach.
“When I changed my thought process as a quarterback to kind of just getting the ball in my guys’ hands, that’s really kind of where it unlocked for me a little bit,” he said.
The Vikings, and now the Seahawks — plus Darnold’s bank account — realized the benefits.
Darnold made only one start in San Francisco. He mostly watched Purdy lead the 2023 49ers to the Super Bowl in the formerly overlooked Iowa State QB’s second NFL season.
He signed before last season with Minnesota. It was a one-year, $10 million contract.
He signed to get coached by hotshot play caller Kevin O’Connell, the Vikings’ head coach, and his staff of offensive innovators.
The smarter, more point-guard Darnold had All-Pro wide receiver Justin Jefferson, game-breaking Jordan Addison and elite tight end T.J. Hockenson to throw to in Minnesota last season.
The quarterback looked like, well...the third pick in a draft, the star he was at USC in his native Southern California through the 2017 college season.
Darnold threw for 4,300 yards and 35 touchdowns, against just 12 interceptions in 593 drop backs to pass last season. He lit up the Seahawks in December, completing 22 of 35 passes for 246 yards and three touchdown with no turnovers in Minnesota’s 27-24 win in Seattle. That helped eliminate the Seahawks from the playoffs for the second consecutive year.
Darnold and the Vikings went 14-3 and into the playoffs.
And he went into the biggest riches of his career. He became the most coveted free-agent quarterback in the market that opened Monday. His average of $33.5 million per year is more than three times what he earned in 2024.
“Obviously the coaching I got in Minnesota, you know, it was an incredible experience. KO, Josh (McCown), Wes (Phillips)...all those guys. I can go on and on,” Darnold said, wearing a very Pacific Northwest flannel shirt over his reddish-brown beard and goatee. “And, obviously, the players we had in Minnesota, as well. It’s a credit to everything, man.
“I can’t necessarily point to one thing, but my entire journey has been about growing as a person and as a player.
“And I’m just so, so thankful that it’s led me to this point here in Seattle.”
Rocky Minnesota ending
Yet it didn’t end well for him, or the Vikings, in Minnesota.
In week 18 in January, the NFC North title was at stake in the regular-season finale. Darnold had the second-highest off-target percentage in a game of his career (34%). He completed just 18 of 41 passes against Detroit’s man-to-man coverage. Though he was sacked just twice, he and his previously soaring Vikings crashed in a 31-9 loss to the Lions. Minnesota became the winningest team in NFL history that did not finish first in its division.
The next week in the first round of the NFC playoffs, the Los Angeles Rams sacked Darnold a league postseason record-tying nine times. Darnold held onto the ball for an average of 4.73 seconds on those sacks. The Rams routed the Vikings, ending Darnold’s time in Minnesota.
The Vikings decided to let Darnold’s contract expire and roll in 2025 and beyond with J.J. McCarthy, their 10th pick in last year’s draft. His season-ending knee injury last summer is why Darnold started last season.
Darnold said he learned from his final two games for Minnesota.
“I was waiting for someone to bring that up, by the way. I appreciate that. It’s fair,” he said.
“I learned a ton from those last two games, especially, playing Detroit and playing L.A. We are going to see L.A. twice a year, obviously, playing in this division (with Seattle), and really looking forward to that.
“I think being able to get the ball out a little bit quicker on some of the drop-back stuff that we had those last couple games, and understanding where the outlets are. And even if a guy is covered, like even if my back is covered on a check-down, just throwing it at his feet. I felt like I was taking some unnecessary sacks last year, especially those last few games.
“When we start to get into those team periods and start to get into training camp a little bit, I’ll definitely be thinking about that. Keeping two hands on the ball in the pocket at all times, and just doing all the little fundamental things. And I think that that’s a big one, is being able to just get the ball out on time.”
How the Seahawks chose Sam Darnold
At the start of last week, the Seahawks were trying to keep Pro Bowl, record-setting veteran Geno Smith on a contract extension to be their quarterback beyond 2025.
Smith saw himself as a top-10 quarterback in the league. He wanted to be paid like one, upwards of $45 million per year.
The Seahawks coaches and executives didn’t see him as that, not entering his age-35 season. General manager John Schneider offered Smith $35-40 million per year. That was Monday, March 3.
Smith didn’t accept — and he didn’t give a counteroffer.
The Seahawks knew they could trade him to the Las Vegas Raiders, coached now by recently hired Pete Carroll, the coach who saved Smith’s career in Seattle.
So Schneider pivoted, quickly. Within days the GM went from negotiating to extend Smith to pursuing the coaches’ first choice to fit Kubiak’s new Seahawks offensive system.
That was Darnold.
Schneider didn’t wait to haggle with Smith. He traded him to the Raiders on Friday.
That decisiveness gave him the time — and by saving $31.5 million on Smith, the room under the 2025 NFL salary cap — to prepare an offer of $55 million guaranteed to Darnold. He needed to do that by the time the league’s free-agency negotiating window opened Monday of this week.
Darnold was ready for Schneider’s offer.
“Heard the Geno news. When that broke, I understood that this could potentially be a spot for me,” Darnold said inside his new Seattle headquarters.
Monday afternoon Darnold and the Seahawks agreed to the deal. It could be worth a maximum of $100.5 million through the 2027 season, if he reaches performance bonuses.
He signed his Seahawks contract Thursday at team’s Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Mike Macdonald excited over Sam Darnold
“This is exciting times, man,” coach Mike Macdonald said.
“It’s been a whirlwind couple weeks here. ...
“But as this thing started to come together — feels similar like the way I felt introducing Klint — was just looking into Sam, and obviously gone against him in my career and here last year at Lumen against the Vikings,” Macdonald said.
“First of all, he’s just a tremendous human being. A great leader. We have a lot of people in our building that have a history with Sam that have a lot of respect for him as a person, as a leader, as a football player.
“I’m really excited to get our relationship started and getting to introduce himself to the rest of the team and the city and the 12s.
“I think we are going to be really proud of our quarterback here. Then, obviously, as a football player and a quarterback, just a heck of a player. Just tough as nails from my opinion. You go through all the talent, we can talk about that until we are blue in the face.”
For that reason — and the fact the Steelers, Giants, Jets and other teams were seeking free-agent quarterbacks this week — Macdonald wasn’t sure after the Seahawks traded Smith he’d get Darnold.
“It was an interesting series of events, for sure,” Macdonald said, with a chuckle. “But when it became apparent that we were going to have to pivot away from Geno then I was definitely hoping that it was going to land with Sam.”
The coach laughed.
“There was (uncertain) time there...Just really fortunate that it worked out the way it did. There’s some great quarterbacks out there that we looked into. But it was really apparent that same was our guy.”
How quick was that pivot once Smith didn’t accept the Seahawks’ offer to him early last week, and what were the dynamics of having to make that choice so quickly, to trade him to the Raiders Friday, and before the start of free agency this past Monday?
“I’d say once we decided to make the move with Geno, understanding who was out there, definitely Sam became the number-one focus pretty quickly.”
Darnold in Kubiak’s system
Macdonald and Kubiak wanted Darnold because he is best at what the Seahawks’ new offensive coordinator did as much or more than any other NFL play caller did last season while with the New Orleans Saints.
Kubiak had Saints quarterback Derek Carr under center calling plays with pre-snap motion then play-action passes. Direct snaps from under center are becoming as rare as I formations in today’s shotgun-dominant NFL.
Darnold last season with the Vikings did this, according to number compiled by Seattle-based Doug Farrar of Athlon Sports.
- Under center: 113 completions in 161 pass attempts for 1,567 yards, 891 air yards, a league-high 16 touchdowns, two interceptions, a sterling passer rating of 129.1 (perfect is 158.3; Darnold’s season rating was a career-high 102.5 last year).
- Play-action: 119 of 166 for 1,616 yards, 825 air yards, 14 touchdowns, two interceptions, a passer rating of 125.5.
- Pre-snap motion: 243 of 366 for 2,835 yards, 1,599 air yards, a league-high 27 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, a passer rating of 102.9.
- Direct snap under center with pre-snap motion on play-action passes: 66 of 96 for 912 yards, 463 air yards, eight touchdowns, no interceptions, a passer rating of 126.7.
Kubiak and the Seahawks will take more of that, thank you.
“Sam’s extremely talented. Obviously, a great thrower of the football,” Kubiak said. “His mobility sticks out. His toughness. His maturity.
“The thing about Sam that really sticks out is just he’s an A-plus teammate. Elevates those around him. The guys he plays with respect him because when your best players are your hardest workers, that’s what you really strive for, and that’s what you want as a coach.
“And Sam has that in spades.”
Darnold’s answer to what of Kubiak’s system fits the QB’s game best made Macdonald happy.
“I know foundation is the run game, and we’re going to run the rock,” Darnold said. “I know Klint is big on running the rock, and you’ve got to do that.
“And building that off of play-action keepers and dropping back when you have to.”
Now Darnold will be doing it as the Seahawks’ new number 14 (DK Metcalf is now a Pittsburgh Steeler).
Now Darnold will be playing for those packed every home game into Lumen Field, not against them.
“I’ve played here a total of three times. Actually played twice. I was a backup in San Francisco...and it’s an unbelievable atmosphere at Lumen Field,” Seattle’s new franchise quarterback said.
“And I’m so excited to finally have those 12 on my side this time.”
This story was originally published March 14, 2025 at 4:52 AM.
