The Seattle Seahawks will have a new starting quarterback in 2025, as the team traded Geno Smith and replaced him with Sam Darnold.
Seattle signed Darnold to a three-year deal worth $100.5 million in free agency. The 28-year-old is coming off a career year in 2024, where he tossed 35 touchdowns to 12 interceptions and led the Minnesota Vikings to a playoff appearance with a 13-4 record.
Though Darnold could provide adequate play for the Seahawks at the sport’s most vital position, Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox dubs Seattle’s decision to sign the veteran quarterback to a lucrative multi-year deal as the riskiest move of the 2025 offseason.
“Darnold was the top signal-caller available in free agency, and he could still provide a long-term answer. However, Seattle shouldn’t have been in a position to desperately pursue him,” Knox wrote.
There is always some risk involved with signing quarterbacks in free agency, but Darnold’s contract doesn’t seem like that much of a gamble.
The USC product is the 18th highest-paid quarterback in football, which is about where he should be. Additionally, the Seahawks could get out of the contract as soon as next year if things go wrong and not take a massive financial blow.
Overall, Darnold’s deal with Seattle seems pretty reasonable, and he should be a solid starter for Mike Macdonald’s squad, so calling the move the biggest risk of the offseason is a bit of an overreaction.
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