Sam Darnold reveals maturity, excitement as Seahawks' franchise quarterback

The 12s didn't get to see Sam Darnold in last week's preseason opener. But when he does make his debut, the veteran quarterback promises fans will witness his best version.

In a new story by Sports Illustrated NFL writer Albert Breer, the new Seattle Seahawks' quarterback talks in detail about his eight-year journey from No. 3 overall draft pick, to discarded bust, to Carolina Panthers' mediocre starter, to San Francisco 49ers' backup, to Minnesota Vikings' star to, finally, the man to guide Mike Macdonald's offense in Seattle.

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“It just made sense,” Darnold said of his decision to sign with the Seahawks. “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.”

Unlike Minnesota - which had high draft choice J.J. McCarthy waiting in the wings - the Seahawks are giving the 28-year-old Darnold a path to being the long-term franchise quarterback and a three-year, $100 million contract.

Macdonald was impressed by Darnold during his time with 49ers and last season with the Vikings, when the quarterback threw for 246 yards and three touchdowns to beat the Seahawks in Week 16.

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Now Darnold is the man, reunited with his former 49ers' passing game coordinator, Klint Kubiak.

He says his maturity manifests itself in not feeling like he has to "win" every snap.

“I think about this all the time,” Darnold said. “We were playing Green Bay, it was the game my teammates did the whole ‘water shower’ deal after the game. It was in that game when I was playing my most disciplined football, because they were getting into some inverted Cover 2 kind of looks, where they were popping out into shell coverage. Teams were doing that a lot against us, with Jordan Addison and Justin [Jefferson] on the edge. … We called a four-verticals pass, up tempo, and on my first hitch, I got it down to the back and Aaron [Jones] got 13 yards. And I don’t know if I make that play early in my career.”

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) throws the ball against the Los Angeles Rams during their playoff game at State Farm Stadium on Jan. 13, 2025, in Glendale. | Joseph Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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