The 2025 NFL offseason was certainly an interesting one for new Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold. After a career year in 2024 on a one-year “prove-it” contract with the Vikings, Darnold made it clear to his suitors that he was looking for multiple years on a contract moving forward. 
We saw interest early on from the Steelers and Giants, while presumed interest from the Titans and Raiders was apparently never there. And while there was talk that Minnesota had interest in re-signing him, Michael Silver of The Athletic tells us that the team never offered him the multi-year deal that he desired.
Quarterbacking a top-10 scoring offense that finished sixth in the NFL in passing yards, Darnold led the Vikings to a 14-3 record. Despite only losing three games, Minnesota finished as the NFC’s 5-seed in the playoffs after losing the regular season finale to the division-winning, 15-2 Lions. That game saw Darnold complete a season-worst 18 of 41 pass attempts and pass for a season-low 166 yards. His first and only playoff appearance ended in a similar fashion as he was sacked a season-high nine times and failed to put double-digit points on the scoreboard.
Just like that, a career-defining, phenomenal season came to a crashing halt, and seemingly, so, too, did the Vikings’ favor for Darnold. After the then-27-year-old Darnold, who was handed the starting quarterback job over the 10th overall pick in 2024, J.J. McCarthy, due to injury, led them within a game of the top overall seed in the NFC, Minnesota seemed to have seen enough of him. Because their plans moving forward involved McCarthy taking over the offense as soon as possible, they were only willing to offer Darnold a one-year deal to potentially cover any time between now and whenever McCarthy is ready to take the reins.
Ultimately, Darnold landed in Seattle as the Seahawks new starter, and even though he’s now in a similar situation, with a rookie Jalen Milroe waiting behind him on the depth chart, head coach Mike Macdonald and company have been sure to communicate with the veteran and assure him that the starting job is his. They also affirmed their commitment to him with the three-year, $100.50MM contract they brought him in with.
With that contract, the Seahawks gave Darnold a chance to win the starting job and keep it for more than a year. Darnold will still have to fend off the developing quarterbacks behind him in Seattle, but at least now he’ll be under contract for those future battles and won’t have to worry about leaving early in free agency without still receiving a good amount of guarantees.