Days after trading Geno Smith, the Seattle Seahawks have a new starting quarterback, agreeing with Sam Darnold on a three-year, $110.5 million deal with $55 million guaranteed, a league source said Monday.
The top quarterback in The Athletic’s most recent top 150 free agents and the No. 4 free agent overall, Darnold will be reunited with offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who was the passing game coordinator for the 49ers when Darnold played for San Francisco in 2023.
Darnold, who turns 28 in June, signed a one-year, $10 million deal with the Minnesota Vikings last March and had a career-best season, earning Pro Bowl honors and guiding the franchise to its best regular-season win total (14) since 1998. He completed 66.2 percent of his pass attempts for 4,319 yards, 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 17 starts before absorbing nine sacks in a 27-9 wild-card round loss to the Los Angeles Rams in his first career playoff game.
Before 2024, Darnold hadn’t thrown for 3,000 yards or 10 touchdowns since 2019, his second season with the New York Jets, the team that drafted him No. 3 behind Baker Mayfield and Saquon Barkley in 2018.
How Darnold fits in Seattle
The Seahawks needed a quarterback after trading Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders for the 92nd pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. They added more draft capital on Sunday by sending receiver DK Metcalf to the Pittsburgh Steelers for the 52nd pick in the draft. But with only three other top-100 picks — Nos. 18, 50 and 82 — the Seahawks don’t appear to be in position to draft one of the top quarterback prospects without trading away several of those selections, which they need to upgrade the roster. This is why general manager John Schneider coveted a starting-caliber veteran.
Now they have Darnold, who completed 22 of 35 passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Mike Macdonald’s Seahawks in Week 15. Darnold was the best possible option on the market to replace Smith, who was voted to a couple of Pro Bowls in Seattle and led the team to the playoffs in 2022. Seattle believes it can accomplish its 2025 goals at a price cheaper than what it would have cost to extend Smith.
No, the Seahawks aren’t tanking, or even rebuilding. But contending just became much harder
The Seahawks will be Darnold’s fifth team in six years, but this investment suggests they believe he can be their QB1 for the foreseeable future.
Why Seattle might still draft a quarterback
The Seahawks signed Smith to a three-year, $75 million contract in March 2023, then attended four pro days to meet with the top quarterback prospects. Their logic for investing in Smith and potentially drafting a quarterback early, according to Schneider?
“Because they don’t grow on trees.”
Schneider’s view of quarterbacks likely hasn’t changed two years later. So, the Seahawks will do their due diligence on this year’s crop of quarterback prospects and hope a guy they like falls to them in the draft. The Seahawks didn’t draft a quarterback in 2023, and they might again choose not to draft a rookie passer in April. Regardless, the Darnold signing doesn’t change Seattle’s thought process.
In 15 drafts with the Seahawks, Schneider has selected only two quarterbacks: Russell Wilson in 2012 and Alex McGough in 2018. He wants to take another in 2025.
Why didn’t the Vikings re-sign Darnold?
For years, Minnesota’s brass has wanted to build a roster around a rookie quarterback contract. The Vikings drafted J.J. McCarthy last year with the No. 10 pick. He remains the organization’s future even after tearing his meniscus last preseason. Re-signing Darnold would have complicated the runway to McCarthy. The Vikings also have plenty of other roster needs, and they need the cap space to allocate to players via free agency because they have only four picks in the upcoming NFL Draft.
Had Darnold had a smaller market, the Vikings would have been in a tricky position. Bringing back Darnold on a lesser deal might have made sense, but it would have raised complications. Darnold winning a competition versus McCarthy would have spurred questions about McCarthy, and McCarthy winning might have placed Darnold in an interesting spot. McCarthy’s assumption of the Vikings’ quarterback position is now clearer.
What’s next for McCarthy and the Vikings at QB?
McCarthy underwent a full repair of his meniscus in August. He is back on the field and able to work out, and the Vikings expect him to be cleared for full activity this spring. He lost weight following the surgery, but one team source shared in Indianapolis that he is back over 200 pounds. Minnesota will have to check certain boxes — how are his mechanics, and are they as efficient as they had become last fall? — but he should set himself for a starting opportunity this fall.
The Vikings still want to add an experienced option alongside McCarthy, and the first sensible name is Daniel Jones, whom the team signed last year. The Vikings believe in what their infrastructure could do for Jones, but he has multiple suitors, including an opportunity with the Colts. If Jones signs elsewhere, Minnesota could turn to a more veteran and less costworthy option.
Required reading
• Our updated list of the top 150 free agents
• NFL free-agency rankings 2025: Top 10 players at each position
• 2025 NFL Draft Big Board: Who are the top 100 prospects in this year’s class?
(Photo: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)