NFL insider scoops suggest Seahawks in the lead for Sam Darnold

With Geno Smith on his way to Vegas, all attention turns to how the Seattle Seahawks will replace their starting quarterback for the last three years. So far all the reporting points in one direction: Sam Darnold of the Minnesota Vikings is apparently the team's top target at quarterback, and while it's still early in the process it sounds like the Seahawks are the front-runners to sign the best free agent quarterback in the class of 2025.

Darnold is about to become an unrestricted free agent, fresh off a remarkable break-through season that will earn him a lucrative long-term deal somewhere. Apparently that somewhere is not going to be Minnesota, though. According to Tom Pelissero from NFL Network, Darnold is not expected to return to the Vikings, who have turned their attention elsewhere.

With the Geno Smith trade opening a spot in Seattle, Sam Darnold is not expected to return to the #Vikings, who are now focused on other options they’ve been pursuing in recent weeks, sources tell The Insiders.

Those options include re-signing Daniel Jones, who is mulling… pic.twitter.com/TYhgG9jPhf
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 8, 2025

Assuming this is correct (with JJ McCarthy waiting on deck it makes sense) this takes the Seahawks' biggest competitor for Darnold out of the picture.

Better yet, it seems that Darnold is not opposed to the idea of signing with Seattle. According to a report by Jordan Schultz, there's mutual interest between the Seahawks and Darnold.

Sources: The #Seahawks, after trading Geno Smith to the #Raiders, have shifted their primary focus to Sam Darnold. He is their No. 1 option, and there is mutual interest on his behalf as well.

It is highly unlikely that Darnold returns to the #Vikings, according to multiple… pic.twitter.com/otbTOj3hTh
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) March 8, 2025

One thing the Seahawks can sell Darnold on is that they're in better shape to compete than all of the other teams that will be bidding for his services when he hits the market. There's a decent chance that Darnold could get offered a higher dollar amount from a more-desperate team, but Darnold's interest indicates that he sees more potential with the Seahawks.

The Raiders were probably the league's most-desperate team at quartebrack prior to the Geno Smith deal, but we can scratch them off the list. Other teams that need a new starter include the Titans, Browns, Giants, Jets and Saints - all of them with losing records.

At 10-7 the Seahawks are a good team but not a Super Bowl contender. However, if they play their cards right with the newfound draft capital and salary cap space that came from the Geno Smith trade they could get significantly closer this offseason. Resetting around a younger, cheaper quarterback is the first step in that process - and Darnold is by far their best hope to meet that particular need.

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