Sam Darnold departs: Seahawks reportedly sign former Vikings QB to 3-year, $100-million deal

Emily Leiker, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Mar 10, 2025

Published in Football

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MINNEAPOLIS — Quarterback Sam Darnold is officially departing the Vikings.

Darnold agreed to a three-year, $100.5-million contract with the Seahawks on Monday, according to reports from both ESPN and NFL Network.

In his one season in Minnesota, Darnold revitalized his image as starter, leading the Vikings to a 14-3 finish in the regular season under the guidance of head coach Kevin O’Connell.

Darnold passed for a career-high 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns on 361 completions in 2024. He was a first-time Pro Bowl selection and a finalist for the Associated Press' Comeback Player of the Year.

O’Connell has talked on several occasions throughout the offseason about the value Darnold created for himself while with the Vikings this year.

“Sam is in a position where the NFL thinks he can play quarterback at a high level,” O’Connell said at the NFL Scouting Combine in late February. “So, that’s a really good thing and I feel very proud to be a part of him getting to this point and we’ll see where it goes from here.”

Darnold replaces Geno Smith, who was traded by the Seahawks to the Las Vegas Raiders for a third-round pick on Friday afternoon. At the time, it was reported that Seattle was going to target Darnold in free agency.

The Vikings will play at Seattle in 2025.

The Vikings also lost backup quarterback Nick Mullens on Monday afternoon. Mullens, who’d spent three seasons in Minnesota, is reportedly signing with the Jaguars.

The Jaguars hired former Vikings assistant quarterbacks coach Grant Udinski to be their offensive coordinator in February.

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