Riddled With Profession Setbacks, Sam Darnold Leaves Nothing Hidden From Shedeur Sanders & Co. on NFL Actuality

“I’m going to return in right here and do my job and be very assured in myself,” Sam Darnold stated again in 2018 after getting drafted. Since then, he’s been grinding to make a reputation for himself within the league. He hadn’t earned a Professional Bowl nod earlier than, however his 2024 season flipped the script. Over 17 video games with the Minnesota Vikings, the previous No. 3 total choose delivered a career-best 102.5 passer score. He threw for 4,319 yards, 35 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. That breakout yr lastly earned him his first Professional Bowl choice. And clearly, groups took discover, making him a mentor for younger gamers.

Sure, in March 2025, the Seattle Seahawks signed him to a three-year deal. They banked on the veteran’s potential as each a beginning possibility and a mentor for the longer term. So, it appears he has already began his mentoring job, as Darnold provided some recommendation to the younger gamers within the league, together with rookie Shedeur Sanders. Showing on The Wealthy Eisen Present, the newly signed Seahawks QB didn’t sugarcoat what it’s like attempting to outlive within the NFL as a younger quarterback. The present’s host introduced up how rushed the expectations really feel nowadays, and Sam Darnold didn’t hesitate to weigh in. There was no bitterness in his voice, only a calm, lived-in understanding of how brutally quick the league can activate a participant.

“I believe there’s a timeline to all the pieces,” Darnold said in the video candidly. “You’ve acquired guys like myself, Geno [Smith]… we be taught rather a lot all through our careers and play higher in a while. Identical factor as Baker [Mayfield], Jared [Goff]… but in addition, you’ve guys like CJ Stroud who simply go on the market ball out..and in addition Jayden Daniels, like there are such a lot of completely different conditions across the league which you could level to which can be so completely different.” His career arc mirrors others like Geno Smith, who didn’t totally blossom till yr 10, or Baker Mayfield, who lastly discovered a system that slot in Tampa. Their success wasn’t about in a single day stardom, it was about surviving lengthy sufficient to develop into the job. 

So, little doubt, it was a refreshingly trustworthy have a look at how improvement within the NFL isn’t one-size-fits-all. Darnold talked about how in the present day’s school offenses differ from NFL playbooks. Or, in actual fact, how younger quarterbacks face a steep psychological and strategic studying curve! For somebody who was thrust into the highlight at age 21, he is aware of what harm rushed timelines can do. For context, Darnold was the youngest quarterback to start out an NFL season-opener since 1970.

Therefore, he provided recommendation to the rookies and younger gamers: “I believe that’s sort of what I’m getting at, you’ll be able to see the expertise. Simply assembly somebody, I really feel like you will get a way of sort of their how their mind works just a little bit. Are they personable? Can they hand around in a room with a bunch of various individuals? And I believe that goes a great distance as effectively. So I do imagine that it could take a while as particularly in school. These offenses that schools are operating now are just a little bit completely different than a number of the offenses that we’re operating right here within the NFL. And so I believe there undoubtedly is a studying curve once you get to the league for positive.” That’s a lesson the league and followers usually overlook within the rush to crown the following star or write somebody off. 

Actually, the timing of his message is very hanging, on condition that rookies like Shedeur Sanders are already going through some scrutiny from the league and the media. Everyone is aware of Sanders was a late-round choose, regardless of an early buzz about his potential on this yr’s draft. Now, as he will get able to make his NFL debut below the burden of his father’s legacy and sky-high expectations in Colorado, voices like Sam Darnold’s carry severe weight. As a veteran, Darnold is providing Sanders and different younger gamers invaluable recommendation on the way to survive and develop.

Sam Darnold’s journey has been something however easy. After a rocky begin with the Jets and a brief run with the Panthers, issues didn’t precisely pan out. He bounced to the 49ers in 2023, quietly combating to remain related. It’s sort of wild, similar to the person he’s now changing in Seattle, Geno Smith. Darnold began with excessive hopes, stumbled, after which lastly discovered new life.

After years spent as a backup or stopgap starter, Darnold revived his profession in 2024 with the Vikes. He posted career-highs in passer score and completion share (66.2 ). Moreover, he additionally saved the crew afloat by way of a tough stretch of accidents. Now paired with Cooper Kupp and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Sam Darnold is surrounded by weapons he hardly ever had within the early years.

Regardless of that, Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell praised him publicly final December, saying: “It might be craziness to not have whole confidence in Sam. He’s doing all the pieces we ask after which some.” That quiet resurgence caught the attention of Seattle, which introduced him in to compete with Geno Smith and probably groom their subsequent chief, hoping he would regulate within the system simply. However will he?

Expectations are excessive for Sam Darnold!

The Seahawks are risking large in 2025, and their greatest cube is none apart from QB Sam Darnold. They selected to maneuver on from Geno Smith, go youthful and cheaper, and hand the keys to Darnold. Now, how far Seattle goes this season actually depends upon one factor. Whether or not that explosive 2024 run with the Vikings was the actual deal or only a flash? But when we glance at the moment scenario, on the crew’s fourth OTA apply, issues have been… blended.

Sam Darnold had some sturdy throws, but in addition threw a couple of red-zone picks, which is a pink flag. Positive, it’s simply June, and there’s an extended street forward earlier than that opener towards the 49ers. However right here’s the factor: Geno Smith led the league in pink zone interceptions (4) final yr. And it price them, particularly in that heartbreaking OT loss to the Rams. So yeah, there’s time to repair it. However listening to about pink zone picks once more isn’t precisely what Seahawks followers need proper now.

So, it stays to be seen how Darnold improves his sport earlier than the actual run. However for now, the QB is simply maintaining affected person and advising the identical to children. Effectively, endurance isn’t a luxurious within the NFL; it’s a rarity. And for quarterbacks like Sam Darnold, who’ve weathered the firestorm, that endurance turns into knowledge. Whether or not or not his Seattle chapter turns into his breakout act, he’s already rewritten his narrative: from first-round flameout to veteran truth-teller — somebody who, as he put it, “believes it could take time” to actually belong. And if rookies like Shedeur Sanders are listening, they could simply be higher off for it.