RENTON, Wash. — The last time quarterback Sam Darnold faced the Rams, he was on the wrong side of an emotional landslide. It was in the playoffs last January, when Darnold was playing for the Minnesota Vikings and the game was moved from SoFi Stadium to Arizona in the wake of the devastating wildfires.
Not only did the Rams roll to a 27-9 victory, but Darnold was sacked nine times.
“It’s football, those things happen,” said Darnold, preparing to play the 7-2 Rams on Sunday as first-year quarterback of the 7-2 Seattle Seahawks. “But yeah, that one stung. I didn’t feel like I played my best, and a lot of guys felt the same way. It sucked that it happened on that stage, but you learn from it. That’s part of the journey.”
Darnold’s journey has been more like an odyssey, from USC, where he was the third overall pick in the 2018 draft, languished with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers, rebooted his career as a backup in San Francisco — observing and learning from coach Kyle Shanahan — then redefined himself as a winner in Minnesota and now Seattle.
“The first three years in New York obviously didn’t go the way I wanted,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “In Carolina there were some ups and downs. But I felt in that last stretch [when Darnold was 4-2 as the starter in 2022], we had a winning record and even a chance at the playoffs. That meant a lot.
“San Francisco was huge for me. I’d always watched that offense and thought, ‘Man, guys are running wide open all the time. I wanted to see how Kyle Shanahan and that staff saw football, how they talked about coverages and dialed things up.”
Darnold thought he might have a chance to lock down the starting job with the 49ers, but Brock Purdy recovered from an elbow injury and reclaimed his role.
Minnesota beckoned, and Darnold hit his stride there. He helped the Vikings to a 14-3 record last season, throwing for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns with 12 interceptions, earning Pro Bowl honors.
“Last year was incredible,” he said. “My teammates, my coaches, my now-fiancee. We really grew to love that city. Minneapolis became home for us. I learned so much that season. Even those last couple of games where things didn’t go how we wanted, the experience was invaluable. Those moments pay dividends down the road.”
The Vikings didn’t use their franchise tag on Darnold, and when Las Vegas traded for Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith, Seattle made a successful run at the player who reinvented himself in Minnesota. Darnold signed a three-year, $100.5-million contract with the Seahawks.
“Coming to Seattle means a ton,” Darnold said. “For them to trust me with the ball in my hands every play, I’ll never take that for granted.”
This season he has 17 touchdowns, six interceptions, and a lofty passer rating of 116.5.
“As a quarterback, you try not to think about it but a lot of jobs in the organization can ride on what you do on Sundays,” he said. “That’s a responsibility, and it’s something I really respect. The trust they’ve shown in me means the world.”
This story originally appeared on LA Times
