Sam Darnold Can Give Jets One Last Gift in Super Bowl LX

There is one game left in the 2025 National Football League season and although the New York Jets will not be playing, they certainly will have some interest in the contest.

It's two-fold. On one hand, the Jets' biggest rival in the AFC East will be playing in the Super Bowl in the New England Patriots. On another hand, former Jets quarterback Sam Darnold will be leading the Seattle Seahawks against the Patriots.

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.

Darnold is just 28 years old and has already had a roller coaster of a career. He was selected with the No. 3 overall pick by the Jets in the 2018 NFL Draft. Darnold played three seasons in New York and although he flashed some talent, he and the team were unable to put it together in the long run. New York ended up trading him to the Carolina Panthers before the 2021 season for draft picks. That's when things really got wild for Darnold.

The former Jets QB is going to the Super Bowl

Jan 25, 2026; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) celebrates with the trophy on the podium after defeating the Los Angeles Rams in the 2026 NFC Championship Game at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

He spent two seasons with the Panthers and had his role with the franchise fluctuate and then eventually signed with the San Francisco 49ers to be a backup for the 2023 season. Then, he joined the Minnesota Vikings in 2024 and competed with then-rookie J.J. McCarthy for the starting job. If McCarthy hadn't gotten hurt, there's no way to know if Darnold would've started, but he did and broke out with 4,319 passing yards and 35 touchdowns. Minnesota turned to McCarthy and Darnold joined the Seahawks and showed it wasn't a fluke with 4,048 passing yards and 25 touchdowns to go along with a 14-3 record.

Now he will take the game's biggest stage against the Jets' biggest rival. With the Jets needing a quarterback badly at this point, it's easy to wonder what could've been. But the Jets moved on years ago at this point and there have been so many changes to the structure of the franchise, including the addition of Aaron Glenn as head coach, that it's a pointless effort.

While this is the case, Darnold still can give the Jets one more gift by taking down the Patriots in Super Bowl LX on Feb. 8.

More NFL: Early Jets Free Agency Rumor Points to Lions LB