F
rom backup quarterback to Super Bowl star. On Sunday, Feb. 8, the Seattle Seahawks won their second Super Bowl title in franchise history, defeating the New England Patriots to cap off a dominant 14-3 season. Missing the playoffs after a 10-7 2024 campaign, the Seahawks proved that they were only a couple of pieces away from being champions. One of those pieces? Former San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback, Sam Darnold.
Darnold, signing a contract with the Seahawks in the offseason, spent the ’23 season as the backup to starting quarterback Brock Purdy and was on the roster when the 49ers made it all the way to Super Bowl LVIII. Learning a lot that season, Darnold credits his time in San Francisco with reviving his career and giving him the tools to become a Super Bowl winning quarterback.
Darnold’s Road to the Super Bowl
After a 2024 season that saw Darnold post career high numbers en route to guiding the Minnesota Vikings to a 14-3 record and earning his first career trip to the Pro Bowl, Darnold entered free agency as a big name and signed a three-year, $100.5 million with the Seahawks to be their starting quarterback. Going 14-3 for the second straight season, Darnold is the winningest NFL quarterback over the last two years and finished his first campaign in Seattle with 4,048 passing yards, 25 touchdowns and 14 interceptions– earning his second straight Pro Bowl trip. But behind an elite defense, the Seahawks earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC and won two home games to make the Super Bowl.
Darnold’s Career Up to this Point
Drafted third overall in 2018 by the New York Jets, Darnold struggled in three seasons as the Jets’ starting quarterback, finishing his final season in 2020 with nine touchdown to 11 interceptions. Traded to the Carolina Panthers ahead of the 2021 season, Darnold was widely considered a draft bust with his trade to the Panthers considered his final shot to be a starter in the NFL. Struggling in 2021– throwing nine touchdowns and 13 interceptions, the Panthers brought in Baker Mayfield in 2022 to give Darnold competition. Darnold went on to start six games in ’22, and posted promising numbers but by that point, many did not view Darnold as a starting caliber quarterback.
But then came a move that would change the trajectory of Darnold’s otherwise failing career. In free agency ahead of the 2023 season, Darnold signed a one-year deal with the 49ers– knowing that he was going to San Francisco to serve as the backup. But in his lone season with the 49ers, Darnold developed under the tutelage of the 49ers’ coaching staff and signed another one-year deal the following offseason, this time with the Vikings. In Minnesota, Darnold was brought in to provide competition for rookie J.J. McCarthy but when McCarthy went down with a knee injury, Darnold got his third chance to be a starting quarterback.
Despite earning Pro Bowl honors and putting together his best season as a pro, the Vikings opted to roll with McCarthy once he was healthy, making way for the Seahawks to sign Darnold. And now, Darnold goes from an NFL castoff to a Super Bowl champion.
Former 49ers Backup Sam Darnold Wins Super Bowl LX