The 2025 NFL season has kicked off, and each team and player starts the year with a blank slate. That is only in theory, however, as some use the scars of the past to judge the present, as is the case with Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold.

Darnold has had the definition of a roller coaster career. The 28-year-old out of USC was the third pick in the 2018 draft by the New York Jets. Thrust into one of the most intense media markets in football, Darnold struggled to find his footing. Darnold even started “seeing ghosts.”

According to Statmuse, Darnold’s tenure with the Jets included 38 games played, 45 touchdowns, 39 interceptions, and a 78.6 QB rating. After a lackluster stop in Carolina for two years and a backup stint in San Francisco, Darnold signed with the Minnesota Vikings.

Changing the Narrative

Sam Darnold, after signing with the Vikings, seemed destined to continue in his role as a backup quarterback.

The Vikings had just drafted University of Michigan’s National Championship-winning quarterback J.J. McCarthy with the 10th pick in the draft.

However, Darnold was named the starter to open training camp, and his starting role was cemented when McCarthy tore his meniscus and was out for the season.

In 2024, Darnold rewrote the narratives on his career and had a standout season. Darnold finished the regular season with 35 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 4,319 passing yards, and led the Vikings to a 14-3 record and the playoffs.

Vikings head Kevin O’Connell’s role in resurrecting Darnold’s career led to him being named the NFL’s Coach of the Year.

In September last year, after Darnold got off to a hot start, O’Connell appeared on “The Rich Eisen Show” and praised Darnold. Jonathan Harrison of Sports Illustrated had the transcription.

“Incredibly proud of Sam. Really from the first day we got him, (he) solidified a lot of the things I viewed of him from afar. I [scouted] him coming out of the draft. Knew how talented he was,” O’Connell told Eisen.

“Sam’s been lights out, finding his teammates, being smart with the football, and then weighty downs in the red zone where he’s just making plays,” O’Connell continued. “He’s more than capable of doing that every single week.”

The playoffs rolled around, however, and some of those old Darnold criticisms started creeping back in.

Against the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card round, Darnold looked like he was seeing ghosts again. Darnold in the game went 25/40 for 240 yards, one touchdown, one interception. He was also sacked nine times for a total of 82 yards.

The loss ended the Vikings’ season and marked the end of Darnold’s time in Minnesota. He would go on to sign a three-year, $100 million deal with the Seahawks, where he has something to prove.

Not a One-Hit Wonder

Sam Darnold is entering the 2025 season with pressure on him. Not just for being a $100 million quarterback, but to prove to himself that last year wasn’t a fluke.

Darnold, throughout training camp, was tested by Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald. Macdonald threw various pressures and coverages at Darnold to see what he would do, and Darnold received glowing reviews.

Gregg Bell of The Tacoma News Tribune, in his August 11 article, described how Darnold was passing Macdonald’s tests.

“The quarterback is now anticipating rookie safety Nick Emmanwori really being an outside linebacker off the edge, about to blitz him,” Bell said.

“Darnold is figuring out Macdonald’s shifting of defensive backs, from what looks like man-to-man coverage at the snap to what is in fact zone, and vice versa.”

Bell went on to detail how Darnold, despite early struggles in camp, appears to be playing like the quarterback who led a playoff team last year.

“Darnold is acing it. After a spate of interceptions early in camp, he hasn’t thrown one in practice since Monday, Aug. 4, an overthrow that landed into the arms of safety D’Anthony Bell,” Gregg Bell said.

“He’s looking more like the quarterback who went 14-3 with 4,300 yards passing and 35 touchdowns in a breakout 2024 season with Minnesota. He’s looking more like the QB the Seahawks traded Geno Smith to get.”

The Seahawks will face their division rival, the San Francisco 49ers, on Sunday, and it will be Darnold’s first chance to show the world that he’s not a “one-hit wonder” and that he is legit.