The Seattle Seahawks have quickly found their replacement for quarterback Geno Smith as they have agreed to a three-year, $100.5 million contract, $55 million guaranteed with the former Minnesota Viking. Darnold will be heading to the Pacific Northwest after the Las Vegas Raiders traded a 2025 third-round pick to Seattle for the 2022 Comeback Player of the Year. This deal was first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. While Smith is now a member of the black and silver, Darnold joins a Seahawks team that found inconsistency in quarterback play in 2024 and now have somewhat overhauled their offense by releasing Tyler Lockett and trading star wideout D.K. Metcalf to the Pittsburgh Steelers for only a 2025 second-round pick.
Update: it’s a three-year, $100.5 million deal including $55 million guaranteed. https://t.co/7VOdSRe2hD
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 10, 2025
It is not surprising to see Seattle sign Darnold, who is coming off a career season in Minnesota, throwing for 4,564 yards, 36 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. The USC alum took over the starting quarterback role at the beginning of the 2024 season after first-round pick JJ McCarthy injured his knee in preseason. Darnold propelled the Vikings to a 14-3 record, but struggled in the playoffs losing to the Los Angeles Rams 27-9 at home.
While Darnold posted his most productive season to date in the NFL, it is interesting that the Seahawks have now gone “all in” on a guy that only has one true season as a starter under his belt as well as decimated the targets around him. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is the only remaining wideout in Seattle that is a proven talent, but Smith-Njigba has not had to be a WR1 in his career yet. While the Ohio State product showed tremendous growth in 2024, 100 catches for 1,130 yards and six touchdowns, questions still loom whether or not he can be the leading receiver in Seattle. The Seahawks must be planning on drafting multiple wide receivers in the upcoming NFL Draft in April, but this move seems like somewhat of a gamble given the limited sample size of Darnold as a starter as well as the limited weapons that Seahawks offense now possesses. Darnold proved most critics wrong in 2024, but the talent that surrounded him in Minnesota is much greater than the talent the 27-year old is joining in Seattle.
