Given Sam Darnold's elite performance, what is Jalen Milroe's future with Seahawks?

The Seattle Seahawks thought rookie Jalen Milroe was their quarterback of the future, but it might instead be Sam Darnold.

Kevin Ng-Imagn Images

The Seattle Seahawks' grand plan was, in essence, to trade Geno Smith for Jalen Milroe. But a stop-gap named Sam Darnold obviously has other ideas.

While the 12s bask in the glow of selling Smith at just the right time (given his dismal season with the Las Vegas Raiders), Milroe has been anchored to the on-deck circle while Darnold is producing one of the greatest quarterback seasons in franchise history. The rookie, drafted 92nd overall last April, has yet to throw his first NFL pass. The subject of offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak's gadget packages, he has ran the football three times for a whopping four yards and a memorable fumble in the three-point loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5.

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Milroe - and Seahawks' general manager John Scheider - might have planned for him to sit and watch a year before taking over the reins. But, at this pace, he'll be a spectator for a long time.

With Sam Darnold's Elit Play, What Is Jalen Milroe's Future With Seahawks?

Despite his journeyman status that has seen him suit up for five teams in eight years, Darnold is only 28. And he's under contract through 2027 on a contract that - at his level of play - is suddently one of the NFL's best bargains.

Darnold, of course, hasn't been perfect. He's still prone to big mistakes at key times, evidenced by the lost fumble against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1, the interception that lost the game to the Bucs, and even last week's fumble in the end zone that led to an easy Texans' defensive touchdown.

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But he's also, by any metric, a Top 5 quarterback in the NFL this season and is helping transform receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba into a bona fide star.

The Seahawks may have acquired their quarterback of the future last offseason. But turns out it was Darnold, not Milroe.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) looks to pass against the Jacksonville Jaguars. | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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