Sam Darnold may have only spent one season with the Minnesota Vikings, but it’s impossible to overstate how important that one season was for his career.
The No. 3 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Darnold failed to live up to the hype he received coming out of USC. After flaming out with the New York Jets and underwhelming with the Carolina Panthers, he spent the 2023 season as a backup with the San Francisco 49ers, and it seemed like he’d remain as a backup for the forseeable futue.
That was, until he went to Minnesota.
Darnold earned the starting job after rookie J.J. McCarthy went down with a knee injury (he likely would’ve started anyway), and unexpectedly put together an excellent season, completing 66.2 percent of his passes for 4,319 yards, 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Not only did he earn his first Pro Bowl selection, but led the Vikings to a 14-3 record when most left them for dead before the season.
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold throws passes during pregame warmups before their game against the Detroit Lions. / Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images
Despite that, the Vikings opted not to bring Darnold back, and he instead signed a three-year deal worth over $100 million with the Seattle Seahawks.
Now, he’ll look to send a message to his former team when the Seahawks host the Vikings in Week 13, which The Athletic’s Mike Jones believes to be the best revenge game of the season.
“The Vikings took a chance on Darnold last fall, and he rewarded them by resurrecting his career and delivering an MVP-caliber campaign, helping Minnesota post its best record since 1998,” Jones wrote. “But the Vikings let him walk in free agency to hitch their wagon to J.J. McCarthy, their 2024 first-round pick who missed last season with a torn meniscus. Now the quarterback of the Seahawks, Darnold will face his former team and try to remind the Vikings of what could have been.”
A quarterback going against his former team will always create an interesting dynamic, and Darnold going against Minnesota is no exception.
While he may look back on his time with the Vikings fondly, Darnold and the Seahawks will certainly look to send a message in late November.