For Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, the question for this 2025 NFL season is whether he can replicate the production he recorded as the starting signal caller for the Minnesota Vikings.
The Seahawks are sold on the idea that Darnold can be what he was in Minnesota, which is why they committed a three-year, $100.5 million deal to him this past offseason. However, one person at CBS Sports isn’t convinced that the USC product will put the same numbers up.
“I don’t want to take away anything from what Darnold did last year. He was fantastic,” Mike Renner said on CBS Sports HQ. “But the four years prior to that, he did not have as many countdown passes in totality as he had all last year.
It was such an outlier that it’s worth asking: where does he end up when he doesn’t have probably a top-5 OC in the NFL and Kevin O’Connell, probably a top-5 receiving core in the NFL that he had there in Minnesota? For half the season, he had a top-5 offensive tackle duo there.”
Can Sam Darnold Elevate the Seahawks’ Offense?
Last season, Darnold completed 66.2 percent of his passes along with 4,319 passing yards, 35 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. Darnold excelled in an ideal setup during his breakout 2024 season, but in Seattle, the 28-year-old may have to elevate the players around him without the same supporting talent he enjoyed in Minnesota.
“A lot was going on around him to benefit him that just won’t be present in Seattle,” Renner added. I need to see their offensive line turnaround before I believe it in Seattle, and I need to see Sam Darnold do it again when he doesn’t have this elite situation before I believe it as well.
“And especially, the biggest thing that I keep going back to is he was great down the football field last season. They do not have fast receivers in Seattle. Those are four, six wide receivers in Cooper Kupp and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. I don’t know where the downfield production is coming from now that they traded away DK Metcalf.
Can Klint Kubiak Get the Best Out of Sam Darnold
Nonetheless, there’s a positive in Darnold choosing the Seahawks as he gets to reunite with a former coach of his that could get the best out of him. Darnold is reuniting in Seattle with new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who served as the San Francisco 49ers‘ passing game coordinator in 2023 while he backed up Brock Purdy.
As a result, playing for a coach who knows him was one of the reasons he chose to sign with Seattle this offseason.
“It’s the people, first and foremost,” Darnold said this offseason on March 14. “I’m just very excited to get in the building, meet everyone. You kind of hear rumors when you’re playing on other teams about the good organizations and the places to be, and this was definitely one of them for me.
“So when the Geno (Smith) trade went down, I knew that this could potentially be a really good spot for me. I’m so excited to be able to work with Klint and all the weapons we have on offense, the offensive line. Just ready to get this thing rolling.”
Seahawks QB Sam Darnold Under Fire Ahead of 2025 Season