The Minnesota Vikings will have a new quarterback under center in 2025 after Sam Darnold decided to sign with the Seattle Seahawks in free agency. Who replaces him is an ongoing storyline, but Darnold’s only season with the Vikings was historic.
The decision will have an unknown impact on the Vikings. Darnold thanked the Vikings in his first media appearance since he left, noting the difficulty of doing so.
He also said he is happy to be in what NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero called the “coffee mecca.”
“It was incredibly tough [to leave the Vikings]. I wanted to make it work and do everything I could to stay there. But at the end of the day, this is a business and they got to do what’s best for them, I gotta do what’s best for me,” Darnold said on “The Insiders” on March 13.
“I’m so thankful, I’m so grateful for the people that I met in Minnesota. Obviously, the coaching staff, my teammates. I can’t thank them enough for the time that I spent with them.”
“You look at that video is just – it wasn’t just me, or it wasn’t just yeah, Justin out there. It was a collective group coming together for one common goal. And that’s what we set out to do every single day,” Darnold said.
“Every single Sunday when we went out there, and we’re able to get that done. Obviously, the last couple games didn’t go our way. But I’m just excited that – you talk about that kind of windy trail to get here. I’m so excited to be able to start this journey in this chapter in Seattle. And, yeah, just ready to hit the ground running.”
Darnold reflected on his struggles to end 2024. The Vikings lost to the Detroit Lions for the NFC’s No. 1 seed and then to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Wild Card Game.
Darnold threw for 411 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT on 53% completion in his final two Vikings games.
“The biggest thing was just getting the ball out. I felt like I took too many sacks in those games, and I think I could just – first of all, it was really good coverage down the field, really good pass rush.
“For me, it was just about being able to – even if the checkdown’s covered – just being able to throw it at his feet in some of these instances,” Darnold said.
Darnold said he learned a lot with the Vikings and will continue to do so in those situations.
Sam Darnold Excited to Join Seahawks After Vikings Exit
Darnold completed 66.2% of his passes for 4,319 yards, 32 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions during the 2024 regular season. Darnold signed a three-year, $100.5 million contract with the Seahawks, who traded 2024 starter Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders just days before.
In Seattle, Darnold reunites with Klint Kubiak.
Kubiak was Darnold’s passing game coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers in 2023. The Seahawks hired Kubiak as their offensive coordinator this offseason.
“It’s been great to be able to spend time here in this facility, get to spend time with the coaches, some of the players. Ran into some of the players. Obviously, some of the guys that we signed and – D-Law [DeMarcus Lawence] and Josh [Jones]. Just to be able to spend time with them has been amazing and, yeah, it’s just – it’s good to meet everyone,” Darnold said.
“It’s funny. I’ve been so eager to just ask Klint – obviously, Kubiak – a ton of questions about offense, and people are trying to drag me out of his office. And it’s just once you get going on the football side of things, you don’t want to stop.”
Darnold noted he was eager to learn the playbook and build chemistry with his teammates.
“You just start over. You put in the work,” Darnold said when asked about that process. “For me, I’m gonna get with Klint on the playbook and start to understand the formations and all the motions that we have. I know there’s some terminology that’s very similar to what we did in San Francisco together and some things that have changed, and I’m really looking forward to learning that and, when I get here in April, just getting to know my teammates.
“That’s one of the bigger things that people don’t talk about is the chemistry that you have with your teammates off the field. It directly correlates to the chemistry that you have on the field, and I’m super pumped to just start that journey here, and get to know these guys, and just get to playing football.”
Notably, Kubiak had two stints with the Vikings, both before Darnold’s time. He was the team’s offensive quality control coach in 2013 (under Leslie Frazier) and 2014, quarterbacks coach in 2019 and 2020, and the offensive coordinator in 2021 under former head coach Mike Zimmer.
Sam Darnold Reflects on Backing Up Brock Purdy
Darnold is 28; still in his prime, especially with as long as QBs can play. He was the No. 3 overall pick by the New York Jets in 2018. Darnold spoke candidly about his journey and the lessons he has picked up along the way, including with the Vikings.
“I learned a ton, obviously everywhere I’ve been,” Darnold said. “You learn a ton from the good experiences. You learn a ton, and some would say – I would say even – more from the bad experiences. And whether it was in New York and Carolina, obviously in San Francisco, and last year in Minnesota.
“Just seeing the way that Brock [Purdy] studied. I’m getting to spend time with guys like Brandon Allen as well in that quarterback room. Brandon, obviously, spending a ton of time with Joe Burrow and Cincinnati before that. So there was just a lot of football knowledge to go around in that room, and I soaked everything up that I could, and yeah, just felt like I learned a ton from Brock in that regard.”
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell mentioned Darnold’s tenure with the 49ers when explaining the decision to sign him.
The rest is history.
