Sam Darnold says other NFL teams were interested before signing with Seahawks

Sam Darnold comes off a Pro Bowl campaign. He opted to sign this offseason with Seattle, who apparently wasn’t the only team interested in his services.

Feb 1, 2025; Orlando, FL, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) throws the ball during NFC Practice for the Pro Bowl Games at Camping World Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

He was the third overall pick in the NFL draft by the New York Jets in 2018. He would soon become the starting quarterback of the Carolina Panthers via a trade in 2021. Quarterback Sam Darnold’s next stop would be in 2023 with the San Francisco 49ers, where he appeared in 10 games and made one start. In 2024, the Minnesota Vikings inked the well-traveled signal-caller to a one-year deal. It would be a career-changing experience for Darnold, who benefitted from the tutelage of 2024 NFL Coach of the Year Kevin O’Donnell.

The 28-year-old quarterback enjoyed a big year for the playoff-bound Purple Gang, earning a Pro Bowl invitation. They finished 14-3 and claimed a wild card berth. The season ended with a disappointing 27-9 loss to the Rams in the wild card playoffs. Darnold realistically had no future in Minnesota considering the team had used a first-round pick in 2024 on University of Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy.

Jun 11, 2025; Renton, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) passes the ball to quarterback Drew Lock (2) during mini-camp at Virginia Mason Athletic Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images | Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

2024 Pro Bowl QB Sam Darnold is with his fifth NFL team

Now Darnold is with his fifth NFL franchise in eight years, signing a three-year, $100.5 million deal with Mike Macdonald’s club. General manager John Schneider was in the midst of overhauling the league’s 14th-ranked offense. In mid-March, the Seahawks dealt starting quarterback Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders, opening the door for the free-agent quarterback.

“It just made sense,” said Darnold to Albert Breer of SI.com. “The Geno (Smith) trade went down, I thought, O.K., this could be an interesting place. Then, with the conversations my agent was having with people in the front office, it all kind of made sense to me. Obviously, there were a couple other teams, which I won’t get into detail about. But, yeah, I’ll just say it made a ton of sense.”

It also made sense that Seattle’s new offensive coordinator was Klint Kubiak. He and Darnold were with the 49ers in 2023, so there was some familiarity there. It’s also not surprising that there were other clubs interested in a quarterback that easily set career highs in completion percentage (66.2), passing yards (4,319) and touchdown tosses (35). Now the former first-rounder must show that his improved play in 2024 was indeed a sign of things to come.

More Seahawks on SI stories

Seahawks studs & duds from preseason debut against Raiders

Seahawks troll Ashton Jeanty after huge half from George Holani

How Pete Carroll pranked Seahawks K Jason Myers in his return

Insider: Veteran Seahawks WR ‘hasn’t made any’ plays at camp