Seahawks sign former Vikings QB Sam Darnold after Geno Smith trade

Just days after trading Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders, the Seattle Seahawks found their quarterback: Sam Darnold.

Darnold and the Seahawks have agreed to a three-year, $110.5 million deal, FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz reported.

Darnold, who will be 28 at the start of the 2025 NFL season, is coming off a breakout season with the Minnesota Vikings. He completed 66.2% of his passes for a career-high 4,319 passing yards, 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions with a 102.5 passer rating. Darnold’s play helped the Vikings have one of the best regular seasons in the NFL, going 14-3. He also earned his first career Pro Bowl nod.

Furthermore, Darnold’s 35 passing touchdowns were tied for second in a single season in Vikings history, with his 4,319 passing yards being third.

As Darnold had the Vikings a win away from sealing the NFC North and clinching the No. 1 seed in the conference, there were questions over whether the team should keep him beyond the 2024 season and part with J.J. McCarthy, who they selected with the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. But Darnold struggled in their Week 18 loss to the Detroit Lions, completing just 43.9% of his passes, failing to win the division. A week later, Darnold struggled again, committing two turnovers in their opening-round playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

The losses began a debate over whether the Vikings should keep Darnold and what his worth should be in the open market. Minnesota opted not to give Darnold the $40.2 million franchise tag ahead of last week’s deadline, but the two sides were still interested in a possible short-term deal, according to Schultz. That changed in a matter of days, though. Following the Seahawks’ trade of Smith, it was reported that the Vikings weren’t expected to retain Darnold with a new suitor emerging.

The Seahawks are coming off a 10-7 campaign, but missed the playoffs for a second straight year and are going through some big organizational changes themselves. They opted not to acquiesce to wide receiver DK Metcalf‘s asking price for an extension, allowing him to seek a trade before dealing him to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. Prior to their trades of Smith and Metcalf, the Seahawks released long-time veteran wide receiver Tyler Lockett in a cap-clearing move.

The changes came after they made a switch at offensive coordinator, hiring Klint Kubiak to replace Ryan Grubb. Kubiak and Darnold spent time together with the San Francisco 49ers in 2023, where the former was the passing game coordinator for a year.

Darnold will join a quarterback room that includes Sam Howell and Jaren Hall.

As for the Vikings, it’s been expected that they’ll make McCarthy their starting quarterback in 2025. They’ve also been linked to other veteran free-agent quarterbacks, including Daniel Jones and Aaron Rodgers. Jones joined Minnesota’s practice squad late in the 2024 regular season.

Darnold, who was selected with the No. 3 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft out of USC, spent the first three seasons of his career with the New York Jets (2018-2020), followed by a two-year stint with the Carolina Panthers (2021-22). Following spending the 2023 season with the San Francisco 49ers, Darnold signed a one-year, $10 million deal with the Vikings last offseason.

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