Seahawks OTAs: Insider shares context on Sam Darnold's up-and-down day in red zone

Darnold's performance was not as bad as it was made out to be.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) warms up before the game between Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. | Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) warms up before the game between Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025.

Coming out of an OTAs practice earlier this week, a minor, entirely media-made quarterback controversey came out of one bad session from the Seattle Sehawks' new starter, Sam Darnold. The headline was that Darnold had thrown two interceptions in the red zone on three passes, which sounds pretty bad without any context.

Nevertheless, head coach Mike Macdonald found himself answering "crazy" questions about what it would take for rookie Jalen Milroe to replace Darnold as Seattle's QB1.

The truth is that every throw in that session was in the red zone - and Darnold also threw a couple of touchdowns. Here's Bob Condotta from the Seattle Times making an appearance on Bump & Stacy to provide some context on how Darnold performed in those drills.

Seattle Times #Seahawks reporter @bcondotta joined @michaelbumpus5 & @StacyRost to share early observations from Seahawks OTAs.

FULL VIDEO 📺: https://t.co/SDFnTqm49v pic.twitter.com/9mKL5ekPNp
— Seattle Sports (@SeattleSports) June 4, 2025

As Macdonald made clear, the only way that Darnold is going to lose his starting job in 2025 is if he suffers a major injury. Milroe fans should also keep in mind that right now even a season-ending injury to Darnold won't guarantee that the rookie will see the field this year. Drew Lock is still the next man up on the depth chart and has a lot more experience than Milroe, both in the NFL and with the Seahawks' personnel.

Nothing is impossible, but the odds for Milroe to have a Russell Wilson-like first summer in the league are extremely low - and even in that case Wilson didn't beat out another quarterback who had a $100 million contract.

Milroe could be one of the most electric quarterbacks in the NFL - but it's unlikely we will find out this year.

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