Sam Darnold completed a career turnaround with a Super Bowl win on Sunday, and doing it on the San Francisco 49ers’ home field had a certain “full circle” moment for him.
The Seattle Seahawks quarterback played for the 49ers in 2023 when he rebuilt his career as a backup for the team. Darnold was considered a draft bust and failed in his two opportunities as a starter, but his time with the 49ers allowed to him to rework his career and play with a Super Bowl team that year.
“It’s funny how it works,” Darnold told reporters on Sunday. “I didn’t play great football the first few years of my career. Then I come here to San Francisco, and I learned a ton. And I think because of that year in San Francisco, I was able to learn a ton.”
“Learn from Brock and coach (Kyle) Shanahan,” Darnold added. “And I was able to kind of learn and go to Minnesota and play good football there. I was able to come to Seattle and do the same. So, it’s funny how things work, but that’s life. I’m gonna continue to keep working.”
Darnold played sparingly that season behind Purdy and started the Week 18 game because of no playoff implications. He left the 49ers as a free agent in 2024 and found a starting opportunity with the Minnesota Vikings after an injury to J.J. McCarthy, which led to his current opportunity with the Seahawks.
Sam Darnold: ‘It Is Special’
Darnold admitted he didn’t dwell on the personal significance of playing the Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium, but it hit home afterward.
“It’s a cool full-circle moment,” Darnold said. “I haven’t really thought about it, but it is special to be doing it at this place.
“It’s been fun this entire week just getting to spend time with my teammates and being able to enjoy this stadium and everything it brings. It’s special.”
For Darnold and company, they beat the 49ers in Week 18 to claim the No. 1 seed and force the 49ers to come north for the playoffs. The Seahawks beat the 49ers again in the Divisional Round and returned to the Bay Area for the Super Bowl after ousting the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game.
Sam Darnold Gets Emotional After Game
For all the years of disappointments and doubters with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers, Darnold reached the game’s peak on Sunday as he helped the Seahawks beat the New England Patriots convincingly, 29-13, in the Super Bowl.
“Me and my dad don’t really cry very often, and I told my dad and my mom, ‘I’m here because of their belief in me,’” Darnold said. “They believed in me throughout my entire career, and I think that’s why I was able to believe in myself almost ad nauseam.”
Darnold rebuilt that belief in the Bay Area nearly three years ago with the 49ers after his stumbles in the first five years of his career with the Jets and Panthers.
Sam Darnold Gives Nod to 49ers After Super Bowl Win