Now working for the Seattle Seahawks, Sam Darnold is staying close to the communication pipeline with the Minnesota Vikings, his employer from 2024.
Ex-Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold is not a stranger to his old team.
Darnold signed with the Seahawks in March, securing a three-year contract for $100.5 million.
But he didn’t undergo a stark breaking point with the Vikings. He’s still pretty tight with his old squad.
Sam Darnold Still Tight with His Old Teammates, Coach
D.J. Siddiqui recently interviewed Darnold, and among several topics, he mentioned his continued communications with Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell and his ex-Vikings teammates.
“You’ve gained trust with everybody, and then all of a sudden you’re gone, but that friendship, those relationships, they don’t just go away. I’ve stayed in contact with quite a few teammates, former teammates in Minnesota, and stayed in touch a little bit with Kevin O’Connell. Obviously, he’s got a pretty busy schedule — as do I — obviously getting ready for next year. But it’s been good, just being able to stay in touch with some of those guys,” Darnold said.
“The biggest thing for me is to not think about replicating a season like that. I think that it’s really starting from square one, what can I do to put myself in a good position every single day to just get better? It’s a cliche, but it’s a cliche for a reason. I’m going to continue to try to get better every single day, as are all my teammates.”
Sometimes players who join new teams sever ties with their previous organization, but such is not the case for Darnold and the Vikings. Everyone is still friendly, which seems like a rather O’Connellian situation.
Darnold’s Mostly Magical 2024 Season
Darnold led the Vikings to a 14-3 season in 2024, basically out of nowhere after rookie passer J.J. McCarthy tore his meniscus. Once considered a draft “bust,” Darnold dimed 4,319 passing yards and 35 touchdowns as a member of the purple team, putting Minnesota on the brink of an NFC North title and homefield advantage throughout the postseason.
But with the division on the line and in the postseason one week later, Darnold capitulated, as Minnesota lost at Ford Field to the Detroit Lions and in Arizona against the Los Angeles Rams in a game moved due to California wildfires.
The version of Darnold who played so wonderfully for 17 weeks lost his magic and subsequently signed with the Seahawks two months later.
A New Gig in Seattle
Darnold didn’t necessarily need a “fresh start” after the Vikings did wonders for his career, but Minnesota did not re-up with his services for 2025 and beyond.
So, Darnold signed in Seattle, a club that traded Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders before free agency. In Seattle, Darnold will have Drew Lock and rookie Jalen Milroe on the depth chart behind him, but at least for a season, Darnold will receive an honest-to-goodness audition to rekindle his 2024 flair.
Vikings Lean into The McCarthy Era
Without Darnold, it’s time for Minnesota to see if the fruit of its draft labor in 2024, handing the franchise’s keys to McCarthy, a 22-year-old who won a National Championship with the Michigan Wolverines in 2023.
McCarthy has recovered from his meniscus tear over the last several months, and sans Darnold on the roster, the QB1 job belongs to him. Oddsmakers expect McCarthy to lead Minnesota to an 8-9 or 9-8 record, a modest forecast but up two wins from this time last year when Vegas believed Darnold and Co. would win 6.5 games.
Darnold Fetches Comically Low Power Ranking
Last week, Pro Football Focus released quarterback rankings for 2025, and Darnold checked in embarrassingly low at No. 25.
PFF’s John Kosko explained, “The big question for Darnold and the Seahawks is which version of the quarterback shows up in 2025. Will it be the one we saw from 2018 to 2023, when his highest-graded season was just a 66.0 as he struggled with decision-making and offensive consistency?”
“Or will it be the quarterback who earned an 85.8 grade over the first 17 weeks of the 2024 season and helped lead the Vikings to 14 wins? His late-season regression and playoff struggles were concerning, and he’ll be working with a less talented supporting cast in Seattle.’
McCarthy ranked at No. 21 on the same list, four spots ahead of Darnold.
The Vikings play the Seahawks in Seattle on November 30th. Although dubbed a “revenge game” by NFL.com, Darnold and his former employer are still buddies.
