Sam Darnold tells Rich Eisen why he signed with the Seahawks

Seattle's newest quarterback had an offer from the Steelers, but he elected to come out west, instead.

Dec 22, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) rushes against the Seattle Seahawks during the fourth quarter at Lumen Field. | Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

The Seattle Seahawks claim that they did not plan on trading Geno Smith this offseason, but it's awfully funny how well things played out for them once the deal went down. Immediately after the news broke that Smith was on his way to join Pete Carroll and the Las Vegas Raiders, it was reported that Seattle was pivoting to target the top free agent quarterback of 2025: Sam Darnold.`

Most of Darnold's career had been pretty disappointing at the NFL level after going No. 3 overall to the New York Jets back in 2018. Darnold did flash here and there during his time with the Carolina Panthers, but the real breakout didn't come until last year with the Minnesota Vikings.

From there, Darnold had two teams pursuing him once he hit the open market: the Seahawks and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Earlier this week Darnold was a guest on the Rich Eisen show and he was asked how he settled on Seattle. Here's how he answered.

Sam Darnold on picking Seahawks in free agency

💻 Sam Darnold

The #Seahawks quarterback told us about his decision to sign with Seattle and his expectations heading to the NFC West:#NFL pic.twitter.com/rdAzd2Fkdy

— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) May 29, 2025

In the end Darnold signed a three-year, $100 million deal with the Seahawks. However, it might be more accurately described as a one-year deal with a team option for more - as Seattle can get out relatively easily after just one season if things don't go well for Darnold in his new digs.

The challenge for Darnold will be trying to pick up where he left off with the Vikings (not counting his last two starts) despite not having an elite supporting cast around him. Darnold will definitely miss Justin Jefferson, who's the best wide receiver in the NFC. He also had quality weapons at tight end and running back and a better offensive line than Seattle's.

Most of all Darnold had one of the best playcallers in the game in Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell. Just how much the dropoff is between O'Connell and Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak will go a long way towards determining whether this works out or not.

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