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Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold throws a pass.
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold had a turnaround season in 2024, unexpectedly taking the reins for the Minnesota Vikings and leading the team to a 14-win season.
But the season ended in disastrous fashion, with Darnold struggling as the Vikings lost their chance at a division title in the season finale and then were blown out in the first round of the playoffs. After jumping to the Seahawks for a new starting job, Darnold could already be under pressure to follow up his career-best season.
Sam Darnold Has Something to Prove
Russell Baxter of SI.com noted that Darnold will face some early-season pressure to prove that he’s still the quarterback who helmed one of the league’s top offenses through the majority of the season, not the one who struggled with handling pressure in the final two games.
“And there’s the rub. There are strong opinions regarding Darnold’s overall performance in 2024,” Baxter wrote. “While he enjoyed an incredible resurgence in large part due to O’Connell, his play in the club’s final two outings brought back memories of the issues that plagued him the vast majority of his career.”
After the Vikings decided to move on from Darnold and go back to J.J. McCarthy — whose preseason injury paved the way for Darnold to take the starting job last year — the veteran quarterback was a hot item on the free agent market. The Seahawks landed him thanks to a nine-figure commitment, but that brings its own pressure for Darnold.
“Hence the pressure on a quarterback that the Seahawks inked to a three-year, $100.5 million contract this offseason,” Baxter wrote. “Now all Darnold has to do is show that the majority of this past season was a sign of things to come, and his final two outings in 2024 were now the exception and not the rule.”
Darnold could face additional pressure after the Seahawks moved on from the steady Geno Smith, who had his own career turnaround in Seattle.
Seahawks Have Plans for Rookie Jalen Milroe
While Darnold is not expected to face much of a challenge from rookie Jalen Milroe for the starting job, the team does have some plans for the former Alabama quarterback. The Seahawks showcased some specialty packages for Milroe during the preseason, and he is expected to see some limited playing time during the season.
“We’re going to have plays for Jalen in the game plans,” said head coach Mike Macdonald, via the team’s official website. “He’s going to rep those with the ones. However we build the package for him going into games, he needs those reps in walkthrough and full speed, so that’s going to be important. How we do it, who gets how many reps — obviously Sam (Darnold), it starts with how many reps he needs to get ready, then we kind of work off it from there.”
Milroe had some accuracy issues during the preseason but also showcased his potential. The team is expected to use this season to work on his development, which could mean a more even quarterback competition between Milroe and Darnold in the next offseason.
Nathan Dougherty is a sports reporter covering the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins. Previously he wrote for the Rochester Business Journal and served as the assistant editor of athletic trade magazines Coaching Management, Athletic Management and Training & Conditioning. He is based out of Rochester, New York, and loves everything football. More about Nathan Dougherty
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