Seahawks Head Coach Addresses the Sam Darnold Gossip
Last offseason, Vikings fans were not thrilled when it became clear that Sam Darnold would captain Kevin O’Connell’s offense for an entire season following J.J. McCarthy’s knee injury. However, he unexpectedly delivered a memorable campaign.
Seahawks Head Coach Addresses the Sam Darnold Gossip
The passer’s year had its ups and downs. His late-season blunders remain in Skol Nation’s memories. Still, he found the endzone 36 times in the regular season and landed on the Pro Bowl roster for his fantastic performance.
After the season, Darnold was rumored to be the new signal-caller in many different places, including the Twin Cities, but he ultimately departed and signed with the Seattle Seahawks. Seattle’s quarterback carousel has been eventful this offseason because they swapped out the entire QB room.
For some reason, however, Darnold’s spot in the starting lineup has been questioned recently. His new head coach, Mike Macdonald, was interviewed about that on Seattle Sports 710 AM, and he is not a fan of those theories.
Asked if there were any circumstances outside of injury where Darnold wouldn’t be the Week 1 starter, he said: “No, you guys are crazy,” Macdonald said, visibly displeased. “I respect that you’ve got to ask it, but it’s just a crazy question. It’s just not going to happen. Sam’s our starting quarterback. We love him. He’s doing a tremendous job.”
His comments came one day after Darnold reportedly had an underwhelming red zone day.
“God forbid you’re the worst player of all time because you made one bad throw or one bad decision,” Macdonald said about that one practice session. “That is not what we’re trying to build. We want these guys to go prepare the right way and then when they go out on the practice field, go freaking let it rip, and then we’ll go fix it. We’ve got time. It’s June 3. They’re going to get plenty of reps. We’ll get those things fixed. Sam made a lot of great throws yesterday — he was gashing us on third-and-goal to start the day out, too. So, yeah, it’s kind of a crazy question.”
For what it’s worth, Vikings head coach O’Connell is usually telling people throughout May and June that OTAs and comparable settings are part of the learning phase and mistakes aren’t just allowed, they are encouraged to test the personal limits.
The Seahawks started the offseason with three passers under contract for the upcoming season, and all three have been axed by now. Geno Smith was traded to Las Vegas ahead of free agency, Sam Howell was shipped to Minnesota during the draft, and former Viking Jaren Hall was waived.
Instead, the Seahawks handed Darnold a three-year deal worth $100.5 million, signed Drew Lock to be his backup, and added rookie Jalen Milroe in the draft.
NFL fans always want to see the shiny new toy, but it would be shocking if Milroe were anywhere near ready to unseat Darnold. He was a raw quarterback coming out of Alabama with exciting athleticism but a questionable arm. His presence, though, is a big reason why Darnold’s name is already thrown out there as a potentially benched passer.
Vikings fans are just six months removed from seeing their former starter lose his starting spot in his first year elsewhere. That was Kirk Cousins, who was relieved in favor of rookie eighth-overall pick Michael Penix Jr.
Cousins still hasn’t recovered from that and needs a trade or a release to land on his feet with a different organization. The Browns, Saints, and Steelers could still be in the market for an upgrade at quarterback.
Back to Darnold, barring any unforeseen breakdowns, he will be Seattle’s QB1 entering the season. The Vikings will head to Darnold’s new home in Week 13 for an NFC clash. The veteran passer is expected to start that game.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.