Sam Darnold’s NFL redemption arc just keeps getting better – and now it’s coming full circle.
After flaming out with the Jets and Panthers, the former No. 3 overall pick resurrected his career in 2024 with the Minnesota Vikings, throwing for a career-high 4,319 yards, 35 touchdowns, and leading the team to a sparkling 14-3 record. A one-year bridge deal turned into a Pro Bowl season and proved the league wrong about the “bust” label.
Fast-forward to 2025, and Darnold is straight-up balling in Seattle. Through Week 12, he’s completing 69.5% of his passes, averaging an NFL-best 9.3 yards per attempt, and has the Seahawks firmly in the playoff mix with 2,785 yards and 19 touchdowns. His favorite new target? Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who’s torching defenses for an NFL-leading 1,313 receiving yards and is on pace to become the league’s first 2,000-yard receiver.
This Sunday at Lumen Field, Darnold faces his old team for the first time since leaving Minnesota – and the mutual respect is real.
“He’s definitely balling,” Justin Jefferson said this week with a smile. “It’s hard to miss it when their number one receiver is top in the NFL. He’s been killin’ it. Of course people are gonna talk about the bad games, but at the end of the day he’s leading his team to victories – that’s the main thing. It’s definitely going to be tough to go into that environment and get a win.”
Classic Jefferson. The superstar wideout has always had his quarterbacks’ backs – whether it was hyping Darnold’s first Pro Bowl nod last year, defending rookie J.J. McCarthy through growing pains this season, or pumping up undrafted rookie Max Brosmer before his debut start.
Darnold, for his part, hasn’t forgotten where the turnaround started.
“I’m very, very happy about [the decision to come to Seattle],” Darnold told ESPN’s Brady Henderson. “I’m excited to continue to work the way we’ve been working here and continue to build the relationships in that locker room and with the coaching staff.”
Sunday won’t just be another game. It’s the quarterback who found new life in Minnesota returning home as the guy who got away – with the league’s best receiver ready to remind everyone that real ones recognize real ones.
Kickoff can’t come soon enough.