In Seattle, Sam Darnold takes the next step in his hero’s journey

RENTON, WASH. — Sam Darnold’s first comments the week of his reunion with the Vikings are a microcosm of his past nine months.

“New setting,” the now-Seahawks quarterback remarked before beginning his weekly news conference Friday afternoon. “New scenery for me.”

The irony, too, as he spoke against a backdrop along the indoor practice field at Virginia Mason Athletic Center, is that it’s a near-identical setup to when he’d speak Wednesdays at TCO Performance Center last season as the Vikings’ starter.

“I’m very, very grateful for the time I spent there, all the people that I created relationships with … but I am very excited to be here," Darnold said when asked about his time with the Vikings.

Seven years and five teams since he was drafted No. 3 overall in 2018 by the Jets, Darnold has found a home in Seattle for at least the next few years after signing a three-year, $100.5-million deal with the Seahawks in March as the Vikings committed to quarterback J.J. McCarthy taking the reins in 2025.

Darnold’s early career story is the type the Vikings are trying to avoid with McCarthy — who won’t play Sunday after spending the week in the concussion protocol — and is an example of Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell’s oft-recited mantra about organizations failing young quarterbacks before quarterbacks fail them.

“He just needed the right place, the right fit, the right opportunity,” Vikings offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said Tuesday. “Sometimes players aren’t the player that they end up being. It’s not a knock on the Jets when he first went in the league. I don’t know that he was that player then. Players learn lessons in this league. They grow, they mature if given an opportunity to stick around. Some of them just need a little bit more time.”

In Minnesota, he started his transformation, leading the Vikings to a 14-3 regular-season record and earning himself a nomination for Comeback Player of the Year with a career-high 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns.

Now, Darnold — or, maybe more aptly, those who’ve doubted him since his Jets days — begins to atone.

The Seahawks are 8-3, second in the NFC West and almost guaranteed a spot in the playoffs with six games left in the regular season.

The season hasn’t been perfect, but any question of whether Darnold could replicate his success under a different coaching staff and with a different team around him has been dispelled.

“First of all, any success he has is a tribute to him, his work ethic, the way he handles his business every single day,” Andrew Janocko, the Seahawks’ quarterbacks coach, told the Minnesota Star Tribune this week. “The way he holds himself accountable more than he holds anybody else accountable. So I think you start there.”

“There you go,” said Lock with a smile at Darnold’s appearance.

Like Janocko, Darnold’s fellow Seahawks quarterbacks praise him for his day-to-day preparation.

Lock has known Darnold since high school, when they were in the 2014 Elite 11 quarterbacks class together.

“Obviously, last year, that Vikings year, unbelievable what he put together,” Lock said. “Being able to see him from high school to then, that massive gap, it’s pretty cool, man. He has his weekdays down. He knows what he wants to do. He knows his plan. He knows how to prepare.”

Rookie Jalen Milroe, selected No. 92 out of Alabama, completes the trio in Seattle’s quarterback room.

Darnold and McCarthy’s potential for a real mentor-mentee relationship was stifled by McCarthy having to rehab his knee and not always being around practices or meetings.

There was also the looming reality that McCarthy was the quarterback the Vikings saw as their future.

“For me, it was just understanding kind of what was being talked about, just in terms of behind closed doors with people over there and my people,” Darnold said of whether staying in Minnesota was a viable option. “I made the decision to come here, and I’m very, very happy about that decision.”

Like with Lock, Darnold shares a previous relationship with Milroe. They both work with quarterback coach Jordan Palmer and met while Milroe was preparing for the draft, Milroe said.

When the 22-year-old was drafted in April, Darnold texted him a simple congratulatory message. Milroe considers it his favorite memory with Darnold and the first building block in the rapport they’ve built.

Back in Minnesota, there’s no ignorance or denial of how Darnold’s performed this season.

O’Connell lauded Darnold’s ability to get the ball to playmakers, noting Monday how “explosive” the Seahawks are.

Star Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson has noticed that, too.

Jefferson logged 1,533 yards on 103 catches last season working with Darnold. It was the third-most yards the receiver has had in his career, and a little under two times the amount he has through 12 games this season.

“He’s definitely balling,” Jefferson said of Darnold on Wednesday. “It’s hard to miss it when the No. 1 receiver is top in the NFL. He’s been killing it. Of course, some people would talk about the bad games that he’s had, but all in all, he’s leading his team to victory.”

Smith-Njigba leads the league with 1,313 receiving yards. He broke the Seahawks’ franchise record for single-season receiving yards in their win last week against the Titans.

Janocko, who spent seven seasons with the Vikings before the O’Connell regime, was Jefferson’s position coach during his rookie season in 2020.

He sees similarities between Jefferson and Smith-Njigba in their competitiveness and off-field personalities.

Darnold drew those comparisons between his star receivers of past and present, too. He said they’re guys who you throw to in the most difficult of circumstances — “fourth-and-goal, game on the line, you got to throw it up” — regardless of if they’re in triple coverage.

He smiled widely as he brought up former Alabama coach Nick Saban’s philosophy of “players over plays.”

It’s not just luck or skill or what Darnold learned working with Jefferson that’s led to his success with Smith-Njigba.

Mixed in with all that, Janocko said, is a desire in both quarterback and receiver to be great — an accountability to “not let good be good enough.”

And a whole lot of reps.

On the far wall of the indoor practice field at Virginia Mason Athletic Center hangs a large banner commemorating the Seahawks’ 43-8 win over the Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII.

It’s the only championship in the franchise’s history despite three appearances, all since 2005.

Darnold, despite his strong 2024 season, couldn’t get that victory last year. The Vikings lost 27-9 to the Rams in the wild-card round as Darnold was sacked nine times.

The Rams, though, are a problem Darnold will have to solve if he wishes to complete his hero’s journey, returning to the known as a changed quarterback.

He hasn’t solved them yet: The Seahawks lost to the Rams 21-19 at SoFi Stadium in Week 11. Darnold threw four interceptions and no touchdowns but took zero sacks.

As NFC West rivals, the Seahawks and Rams meet again Dec. 18 at Lumen Field. The Rams (9-2) lead the division and hold the No. 1 seed in the NFC.

But first comes the matchup against the team that helped Darnold rehabilitate his image and then decided to move on.

“He’s got a great demeanor about him,” Kupp said Wednesday. “I think he’s got it pretty locked down.”

Posed a similar question Friday, Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald wondered aloud if it was bad coaching that he hadn’t talked to Darnold about the potential emotion surrounding Sunday’s game.

There could be more in this one than the standard face-off of friends-turned-foes. It’s a reminder of how far Darnold’s career has come and the adversity he’s trekked through to make it almost full-circle.

Said Milroe, at a near opposite end of his journey from Darnold: “Every fruit has its season.”

But Darnold’s matter-of-fact demeanor talking about his change in scenery from Minnesota to Seattle confirmed he didn’t need that conversation with Macdonald.

“At the end of the day, we went down that path, and at the end of the day, I’m here,” Darnold said. “Whatever people want to say about it, it is what it is. I’m just very thankful to be here and be in this situation.”