Former Minnesota Vikings QB Sam Darnold #14 celebrates as he leaves the field agains the Seattle Seahawks.
in 2025, a new era of Seattle Seahawks football will begin. In head coach Mike Macdonald’s second season, Sam Darnold will be trusted to lead the team, earning himself a lucrative three-year contract to be the franchise’s starting quarterback following a very good 2024 campaign with the Minnesota Vikings. Guiding the Vikings to a 14-3 record and earning his first ever Pro Bowl trip, Darnold enjoyed a breakout campaign.
But Darnold’s success last season could not have come without a one season stint with the San Francisco 49ers in 2023, where as the backup to Brock Purdy, he helped the 49ers make the Super Bowl while developing his game in Kyle Shanahan’s system. In fact, Darnold went as far as to credit Purdy for the success he experienced in 2024.
Darnold Credits Purdy
Speaking with NBC Sports Bay Area in late May as part of an event, Darnold spoke about how much he was able to learn from Purdy during his time with the 49ers, explaining how watching him go about his business gave him some ideas on what to incorporate into his own process.
“Brock helped me a ton,” Darnold said to NBC Sports Bay Area reporter, Jennifer Lee Chan. “With certain things of how to prepare and even just watching him play. Just how he processes on the field and all those certain things.”
Since entering the league in 2018 as the No. 3 overall pick, Darnold has been unable to live up to expectations, eventually getting traded by the New York Jets to the Carolina Panthers following his third season in 2020. In Carolina, things did not work out for him either and he was not resigned after the 2022 season. At that point, options were limited for Darnold but by going to the 49ers and working with an offensive guru like Shanahan and his staff, he was able to fix some things that he had struggled with throughout his early career
“I think that’s the biggest thing that I learned going there was just to trust the progressions and if something is not there, trust it, and move on to the next one and the next one,” Darnold said. “If that’s not there, then be able to make a play potentially, but understand where my outs are. If I’m hot, understand where my hot is. If I need to hang in the pocket, understand where I can potentially throw the ball away if there’s pressure. They taught me so much about playing good football, and I’m forever thankful for my time there.”
Darnold’s Tenure with the Vikings
After he became a free agent following the 2023 season, the Vikings signed him to a one-year deal in order to provide insurance for rookie, JJ McCarthy. But a knee injury suffered in the preseason kept McCarthy out all season, forcing the Vikings to role with Darnold. But the fit proved to be a good one, as Darnold finished the 2024 season with a career high of 4,319 passing yards, 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 17 starts– all while guiding the franchise to its first 14 or more win season since 1998. Now, Darnold has the chance to show that he is a franchise quarterback with the Seahawks.
