On March 13, 2024, Sam Darnold penned a $10 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings with the plan of backing up newly drafted J.J. McCarthy. Fast forward 12 months: after a season ending McCarthy injury and a career year for Darnold, he found himself as one of the top free agents on the market.
Upon signing a 3-year $100 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks, the seven-year veteran faces expectations he hasn’t had before. A new challenge awaits, one shaped with a team transitioning from one era to the next.
New Look Seahawks
After trading away DK Metcalf and Geno Smith, as well as firing rookie offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, Seattle underwent a full blown shift this offseason.
Combine this with the Seahawks mission to escape a third straight year of mediocrity and Sam Darnold has a formidable task ahead. But Darnold is not the only one embracing new beginnings. With Klint Kubiak leading the offense and the arrivals of Cooper Kupp and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, this is a brand new Seattle Seahawks.
The 2024 season underwhelmed offensively for the Seahawks. There was a clear lack of balance, underlined by a 39.2% run rate, 5th lowest in the NFL. Seattle also had major problems finishing drives under Ryan Grubb, finishing 14th in red zone efficiency and 22nd in points per red zone drive. These are the primary challenges Darnold will be responsible for overcoming this season.
But they are ones he answered for last season. Darnold put up outstanding red zone numbers in Minnesota, completing 70.5% of his passes and throwing 26 touchdowns.
Meanwhile Geno Smith, albeit in a tougher situation, completed just 48.2% of his red zone passes and threw 10 touchdowns. Although the quarterbacks were in contrasting situations, John Schneider is hoping Darnold can translate that form in the Pacific Northwest.
Schneider is also hoping that Darnold’s familiarity with Kubiak’s system will smoothen out the transition. The quarterback served as a backup to Brock Purdy when Kubiak was the 49ers passing game coordinator in 2023. It’s this familiarity that will help create the identity of the Seahawks 2025 offense.
After OTA’s on June 4, Darnold said, “I think understanding the offense a little bit, coming from San Francisco, what we did in ’23 and with Klint. I told the guys any questions that you got come up to me, ask me anything.”
Sam Darnold Turnaround
Since their time in San Francisco together, Darnold improved leaps and bounds, leading the Vikings to a 14-3 season, throwing for over 35 touchdowns and over 4,000 yards. Kubiak said, “You see the tape, the tape tells it all. He (Sam Darnold) grew a lot. He took an opportunity there and ran with it, and he’s been doing a great job for us here. He’s studying, he’s teaching the young guys, helping me get the system taught, as well as guys like Cooper Kupp.”
With a reliable offensive line in Minnesota, Darnold thrived, posting a 102.5 passer rating and completing 66.2% of his passes on the season. However when faced with sustained pressure, his performance dipped significantly, contributing to multiple late-season losses. One of those losses came against the Rams—Seattle’s divisional rival—where the Vikings managed just nine points and Darnold posted a passer rating of 77.6, sealing Minnesota’s postseason fate.
Darnold has experience in Kubiak’s system, but the uncertainty around the Seahawks’ offensive line remains a tangible concern. At a combined 56.6% of pressures attributed to them, the Seahawks’ right guard and tackle was the worst in the NFL last season. Seattle ranked 21st in the league for pass block win rate and 28th for run block win rate. This further highlights sub-par play in the trenches during the 2024 season.
Combine that with Darnold being a considerably worse quarterback under pressure, and the success of the Seahawks’ season will hinge on the guys up front. But with the addition of 1st round pick Grey Zabel on the interior, and right tackle Abe Lucas returning from sustained injuries, Darnold is in a stronger position to succeed than his predecessors.
The Seahawks’ quarterback position, in many ways, is what it has been. Under centre is someone more than capable, but surrounding him are factors that hold the quarterback’s fate. Whether it be coaching that Darnold understands, effective receivers or high-level offensive line play that keeps him untouched, the responsibility is on the surrounding factors as much as it is on Darnold himself.
