QB Sam Darnold, Seahawks reach deal, reports say

SEATTLE — The Seahawks have reportedly found their new quarterback to replace the traded Geno Smith.

And after three days of rumors following Smith’s trade to the Raiders, the Seahawks’ search for his successor ended where most had speculated it would from the beginning — Sam Darnold.

The NFL Network, ESPN and other national outlets are reporting the details as three years, $100.5 million with $55 million guaranteed and $37.5 million in year one.

The Seahawks were rumored to have interest in Aaron Rodgers, and a report Monday posited they were interested in trying to trade for Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence. Seattle had also been thought potentially interested in Justin Fields. Fields agreed to a two-year deal worth $40 million with the Jets within minutes of the announcement that Darnold is coming to Seattle.

But from the start, most rumors centered on Darnold and Monday the Seahawks got their guy, the agreement being reported about two-and-a-half hours after the beginning of the free agent negotiating period. Darnold cannot sign his contract until the new league year begins Wednesday.

Projections for what Darnold might get were varied.

CBSSports.com recently projected a three-year deal worth up to $114 million. Pro Football Focus projected a three-year deal worth up to $123 million but revised that to two years at $60 million.

Ultimately, the Seahawks reeled in Darnold for a deal similar to that to which they signed Smith in 2023, when he agreed to a three-year deal with a base value of $75 million that could have increased to $105 million by hitting incentives and bonus escalators.

The Seahawks traded Smith after negotiations on a contract extension broke down last week. Smith, who was due to earn $31 million in 2025 on the final season of his deal, is said to have wanted more than a two-year deal worth an average of $40-45 million that the Seahawks were said to have offered.

The 27-year-old Darnold became one of the hottest names on the free agent market after a breakout 2024 season with the Vikings in which he threw for 35 touchdowns against just 12 interceptions as the Vikings went 14-3.

It was a season that fulfilled all the promise NFL evaluators thought he had when he was taken third overall by the New York Jets in 2018 out of USC.

Darnold struggled for three seasons there and spent two years in 2021-22 in Carolina and 2023 on the bench with the 49ers before reviving his career in Minnesota, where he played on a one-year contract worth $10 million.

Darnold became a free agent when the Vikings decided last week not to place the franchise tag on him, and apparently turn their QB-of-the-future duties over to 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy.

The Seahawks will hope 2024 was a sign of things to come and not a fluke as they move on from not only Smith but also receivers DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett.

That Darnold spent the 2023 season in San Francisco as the backup to Brock Purdy playing under new Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak — who was the 49ers’ offensive passing game specialist that year — made him even more attractive.

The hope is that familiarity will allow Darnold to quickly hit the ground running as Kubiak installs a new offense in Seattle.

Darnold’s future with the Vikings was thought to become cloudier after Minnesota was blown out in its final two games of the season — a 31-9 loss at Detroit in a game that determined the No. 1 seed in the NFC, and a 27-9 loss to the Rams in a wild-card playoff game.

Prior to those games, the 6-foot-3, 225-pound Darnold led the Vikings to nine wins in a row, at one point throwing 18 TDs and two interceptions in a span of eight games.

Included in those games was a 27-24 in Seattle on Dec. 22 when Darnold threw for 246 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, including a 39-yarder to Justin Jefferson for the winning points with 3:51 remaining.

Prior to that December game, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald offered a glowing scouting report of Darnold: “Just feels like he’s playing really decisive, really confident. You can see all the talent coming to life. So I think he’s doing a heck of a job. I mean their offense is playing at a high level and the arm talent is there. Being able to hit all the throws and all the areas of the field seems like he can get it there pretty seamlessly and it’s on time. And then one thing about his game that we respect is the ability to extend the play. So that’s something we’re going to have to account for as well.”

Darnold also is a younger option than Smith. He turns 28 in June, while Smith turns 35 in October.

The Seahawks hope he can pick up where Smith left off in moving them to success in the post-Russell Wilson and Legion of Boom era.

They still have Sam Howell under contract or one more season and have former Viking draftee Jaren Hall under contract in 2025.

The Seahawks figure to explore quarterback options in the draft.

They have five of the first 92 picks of the draft after the trades of Smith and DK Metcalf in the past three days, giving the team some capital to move up if a quarterback they want is available.

The Seahawks had just under $68 million in salary cap space heading into the day, though that did not account for the contract of linebacker Ernest Jones IV, who agreed to a three-year deal worth a reported $33 million on Sunday.

It was not immediately known how big Darnold’s cap hits for each year are, though the contract is surely constructed with hits that increase with each season.

With a quarterback in the fold, the Seahawks can use the cap space they have left to address needs on the interior of the offensive line and other areas.

Most notable of those is receiver as the Seahawks last week cut the second-leading receiver in team history, Tyler Lockett, before dealing Metcalf on Sunday after he asked the team for a trade, raising the question of who Darnold will throw to in 2025.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba returns to lead the receiving corps after catching 100 passes last season in his second year in the league, tying Lockett’s single-season record. The Seahawks have no other receiver on the roster who has been a regular starter. Jake Bobo is the only other receiver on the roster who caught a pass last season, with 13 for 107 yards.

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