Punting ‘perfect’ placed Seahawks QB Sam Darnold on path to redemption
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Sam Darnold changed teams four times since the New York Jets selected him with the No. 3 pick in the 2018 draft, but he learned along the way the importance of maintaining composure and confidence, which he credits for putting him in the spotlight at Super Bowl LX.
"It's always just been about putting in the hard work every day. All the hours I've put in ... it leads to this moment," the Seattle Seahawks quarterback said Wednesday at the San Jose Convention Center. "That's the mindset I have, and the mindset I've had my entire career."
A humble journeyman reclaimed on a vagabond trek from the Carolina Panthers (2021-22) to the San Francisco 49ers (2023) and Minnesota Vikings (2024) to Seahawks since being jettisoned by the Jets in 2020, Darnold has no fear of revisiting those scars. Now 28 and in his first season in Seattle, he doesn't believe he would be playing in Sunday's game against the New England Patriots without learning a few hard lessons about mental and emotional growth.
He's not all that far removed from being forced to stay positive and rooted in self-belief when others choose not to, the latest example being Minnesota last March.
He won 14 games with the Vikings in 2025 before imploding in the playoffs in a wild-card elimination at the hands of the Rams. He was sacked nine times. The franchise decided to move on, and Darnold took the exit that past the theory of football perfect and led him to Super Bowl LX.
"I think the biggest thing is, believe in yourself," Darnold said.
Still less than one month removed from his first career playoff win, Darnold and the Seahawks proved the ideal fit. He was matched to what he considered an ideal system orchestrated by offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, hired 13 months ago by head coach Mike Macdonald. But Darnold said he was also drawn to the franchise because of Macdonald, skill-position talent and the team's vision for a rising defense.
"Coach Macdonald and the defense had a lot to do with my decision as well," Darnold said.
Clearly, Darnold vision is matching the results in retrospect and the Seahawks were the team he was looking for in a free-agent destination. In the regular season, Darnold was fifth in the NFL with 4,048 passing yards and tied for ninth with 25 touchdown passes.
The most recent restart in his career nears the end of the first chapter -- he signed a three-year, $100 million deal last March -- Darnold speaks in a monotone voice at the podium. Finding film of an emotional response to any play -- joyful or jilted -- requires some digital archaeology. Teammates say there's fire behind that gentlemanly ginger beard and even-keel communication style.
"I think that just means that he's a real guy," Macdonald said Tuesday. "He's got real emotions. He's got a real competitive spirit. There's things that piss him off. You know, especially when things don't go his way. We've had some real competitive battles in practice over training camp and this season. ... And frankly, that's probably when he plays some of his best football."
Darnold said Tuesday that it was his decision, not any peer or coach, who helped him become the mental match for his many physical gifts. He said it traces to making the decision himself not to be his own harshest critic, a realization that he couldn't grow without being able to "move on."
The difference "unlocked" Darnold to go from purported late bloomer to a steadying pilot of Seattle's dangerous offense.
"I was really hard on myself," Darnold said of his early NFL days. "After a bad rep or a bad practice, I left it impact me. You obviously want to practice hard but nobody is going to be perfect. "Jerry Rice has a quote, I'm just going to paraphrase it, but he never had a perfect practice or a perfect game. That's kind of the mindset I had after my first couple of years."
Darnold applied the relatively new next-play mantra when he strained his oblique muscle before the divisional playoffs against the 49ers. He was limited in practice and didn't know for certain whether his physical ailment would cause him more playoff issues.
The muscle pull has been a non-factor. Darnold is completing 69.8% of his passes in the playoffs with four touchdowns and no interceptions. He put up three TDs and 346 passing yards in Seattle's 31-27 win against the Rams in the NFC Championship game. But Darnold claims to be too focused on the task at hand to be worrying about the general managers, coaches and doubters he's proving wrong on the road to Super Bowl LX.
"You see examples of that all around the league and in the past. Just guys maybe not having as much success as guys think they should've had or the media thinks they should have had," Darnold said. "And I learned. I learned from mistakes that I made."