The Seattle Seahawks are one of the teams that made major changes in the offseason. They traded away quarterback Geno Smith and top receiver DK Metcalf. While many wondered if a rebuild was in order, the team quickly replaced them with a former second overall pick, Sam Darnold, and former Rams receiver Cooper Kupp. Darnold had a resurgent year with the Minnesota Vikings, leading them to a 14-3 record. It earned him a three-year, $100 million contract with Seattle. However, one Seahawks reporter gave a concerning report about the quarterback’s play in practices so far.
Seattle Seahawks QB Sam Darnold Early Reports
No matter which team signed Sam Darnold, the question would have been the same. Was last year a one-hit wonder season, or the beginning of his best years? Seattle Seahawks reporter Bryce Coutts gave a concerning report for fans hoping for a repeat of 2024.
“I can’t say like Sam Darnold has really clearly demonstrated this strength where he’s doing this really well or he makes this throw repeatedly well or I could see this clear progression in terms of how he’s playing or he’s great in the red zone.
“I don’t have that yet for Sam Darnold. The things that have stuck out to me more have been some judgment stuff still, like where he’s choosing to deliver the ball, when he’s choosing to deliver it. He’s thrown a handful of interceptions he should have thrown a number more because Riq Woolen or Devon Witherspoon dropped some interceptions.
I just don’t know that’s where it’s like is that because he’s still learning the system and learning the players and he’ll make better decisions along the way? You hope. You also look at his history and the guy has a pretty high turnover worthy play rate over his career.
“At this point I think it’s fair to at least have a little bit of concern that, okay, he does not have a Justin Jefferson on this team who can beat any player in any coverage, and he doesn’t have a Kevin O’Connell who knows how to scheme everything perfectly to get those guys open. That said, I don’t think this is like a red alert ‘things are absolutely a disaster,’ but it’s a yellow flag right now.”
This is not what you want to read if you are a Seattle Seahawks fan. The mistakes Darnold is making in practice are the same ones that have doomed him throughout his career. Coutts does point out that it hasn’t been a disaster. The quarterback may still be getting up to speed on the new system and getting acclimated to the new team. Furthermore, he could be taking more chances because it is practice and not a game.
Final Thoughts
The Seattle Seahawks are one of the most interesting teams for 2025. They made massive changes because they thought it would make the team better. Will they get back to the postseason in 2025, or will they regret moving on from some of their former players?
