Old Sam Darnold Jets Memes Resurface as QB Takes Seahawks to the Super Bowl

Sam Darnold is going to see a lot of this image over the next two weeks. | ESP

Sam Darnold is headed to the Super Bowl. Considering how his career started, it’s kind of incredible to think about. Darnold was taken with the No. 3 pick in the 2018 NFL draft by the New York Jets and things went very badly, followed by two years in Carolina where things also didn't go great and one very quiet season as the backup quarterback in San Francisco.

Since then he’s guided two different franchises to 14-win seasons in two consecutive years and now he's headed to the Super Bowl. It’s an awesome story, but that doesn't mean people are ready to stop bringing up the past. Particularly what happened in New York during his second year when two appearances on Monday Night Football created moments that still follow him to this day.

The first happened when Darnold wasn't even playing. In Week 2 the Jets took on Baker Mayfield and the Browns. Darnold was out with mononucleosis, which is a not a common ailment on NFL injury reports. How long was he out? Indefinitely. How do we still know that?

ESPN made one of the most infamous graphics in sports history. Rather than explaining why he was out, ESPN used stock footage of Darnold in his uniform looking at the camera and pointing as they showed the team's upcoming schedule. On one side of the graphic it said "OUT INDEFINITELY" over "MONONUCLEOSIS."

Sam Arnold was out indefinitely in 2019. | ESPN via CBS Sports

It was an incredible thing to see live, but it really took off when former Deadspin video expert Tim Burke created a meme generator using the cropped image where people could insert their own text. The images of Darnold still pop up online from time to time, but when Darnold made the Super Bowl they came roaring back, as did the original.

This is the starting QB favored to win Super Bowl LX. pic.twitter.com/jigVY3t2Rh

— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) January 26, 2026

Sam Darnold, Conference Champion pic.twitter.com/t4fKHYiTWd

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) January 26, 2026

Sam Darnold overcame being out indefinitely from mononucleosis to clinching a Super Bowl appearance. Anything is possible. pic.twitter.com/uJrJRuIdt1

— jordan (@JordanUhl) January 26, 2026

What Sean McVay sees in his nightmares pic.twitter.com/hysfD4J65t

— Pablo Torre 👀 (@PabloTorre) January 26, 2026

pic.twitter.com/sT5PmvIYWe

— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) January 26, 2026

Back in '19, Darnold ended up recovering from mono and returned to the lineup in Week 5 after missing three games. Unfortunately, the next week the Jets were back on Monday Night Football to take on the Patriots. Darnold had a nightmare game as he threw for 86 yards and four interceptions as the Jets got shut out 33–0.

Things then went from bad to worse for Darnold because he was mic'd up for the game and ESPN showed him on the bench saying he was "seeing ghosts."

The Jets were furious that ESPN aired it.

While it hasn't lived on like the OUT INDEFINITELY graphic, it did also resurface as Darnold punched his ticket to the Super Bowl. Bleacher Report posted a graphic of him as a Ghostbuster and at least one media member asked him following the NFC Championship Game. Darnold, who has addressed the ghosts comment in the past, said, “I almost forgot about it, so thanks.”

The fact that the ghosts comment happened in a game against the Patriots makes it incredibly likely it becomes a story at some point in the two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl. The fact that both of these things happened within a few weeks of each other more than five years ago and they're still haunting him today is just unfortunately.

If he can survive two more weeks of this, at least he has a chance to have the last laugh.

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