Current, Former Vikings React to Sam Darnold Reaching the Super Bowl

A year after the Vikings let him depart in free agency, Sam Darnold is headed to the Super Bowl. The Seahawks' quarterback was outstanding in the biggest game of his life on Sunday, throwing for 346 yards and 3 touchdowns in an NFC Championship Game victory over the Rams.

Several current or former Vikings players shared their reaction on social media to a huge, career-defining accomplishment from their former teammate. All of it, with the possible exception of one cryptic tweet, was about congratulating a player who was beloved in the Minnesota locker room.

"Sammy D to the bowl," wrote former Vikings safety Camryn Bynum, along with a salute emoji. "RESPECT."

Sammy D to the bowl 🫡 RESPECT
— Camryn Bynum (@Cambeezy_) January 26, 2026

"Been him," Vikings left tackle Christian Darrisaw captioned a picture of Darnold that he put on his Instagram story.

One post on X/Twitter that got a lot of attention came from Vikings edge rusher Jonathan Greenard, who was part of the same 2024 free agent class that brought Darnold to Minnesota. Greenard simply tweeted three dots.

…
— Jonathan Greenard (@jongreenard7) January 26, 2026

The easy way to interpret that is as frustration with the Vikings for not bringing Darnold back last offseason. Greenard's 2025 season ended a bit early due to a shoulder injury, but for the second straight year, he was a key part of one of the best defenses in the NFL. After winning 14 games with Darnold at QB in '24, the Vikings got woeful quarterback play from J.J. McCarthy, Carson Wentz, and Max Brosmer and missed the playoffs this year despite a defense-led 9-8 finish.

Greenard, clearly seeing how fans were taking his post, walked it back in a couple of follow-ups. But it isn't difficult to see why fans would interpret the post in the way they did. The NFC title game ended at 8:52 p.m. central time. Greenard's tweet was sent at 8:54 p.m. If it was about anything other than football, the timing was wildly coincidental.

What happened?? pic.twitter.com/usQLc0LLYZ
— Jonathan Greenard (@jongreenard7) January 26, 2026

Point proven 🤣🤣 https://t.co/TdpSFYmLxE
— Jonathan Greenard (@jongreenard7) January 26, 2026

Greenard did congratulate Darnold on Instagram. "Hooper," he wrote. "Go get one."

A couple older ex-Vikings also had good things to say about Darnold, although Cris Carter didn't exactly get his last name right at first.

Happy for Sam Darnold, go win it all
— Tommy Kramer (@Kramer9Tommy) January 26, 2026

Hell of a win by Seattle and congratulations to Sam Darnell
— Cris Carter (@criscarter80) January 26, 2026

Darnold
— Cris Carter (@criscarter80) January 26, 2026

Big congrats to Sam Donald and Seattle!
— Jake Reed (@JakeReed86) January 26, 2026

The Vikings' decision not to franchise tag or more aggressively try to re-sign Darnold last offseason has aged about as poorly as it could've, which we wrote about at length here. They gambled on J.J. McCarthy (and assumed they'd be able to sign Daniel Jones) and it hasn't worked out so far. This offseason is an absolutely critical one for the franchise's decision-makers.

Then again, who knows what would've happened if the Vikings had brought Darnold back? He found a perfect home in Seattle and is one win away from hoisting a Lombardi Trophy. Vikings feelings aside, it's OK to be happy for Darnold on a human level. Win or lose in the Super Bowl, his career turnaround is an all-timer.

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