Before Sam Darnold was a Super Bowl Champion with the Seattle Seahawks. Before he won the NFC West or was handed a $100.5 million contract, Darnold was a member of the Minnesota Vikings, leading the team to one of their best regular seasons this century before things fell apart in the playoffs.
While Darnold's final two games in a Vikings uniform were indeed rough, it's clear he's moved past them in Seattle, to the point where he might just land a new extension before Minnesota has fully keyed in on their franchise quarterback.
Discussing how it felt to be allowed to leave in free agency on The Herd, Sam Darnold told Colin Cowherd that he understood the financial aspect of the decision, even if it didn't feel great at the time.
“I understand how difficult it can be, and you have a lot of decisions that you have to make as a GM, as a head coach, and so for me personally, obviously I believe in myself, and I understand in my abilities, but at the same time I understand their thought process of going with the younger kid and especially JJ. I think JJ's very talented. He's super smart, and there's a lot of potential there. And I think JJ's going to be a really, really good player in this league,” Darnold said.
“And that allowed them to kind of not sign me to maybe a bigger deal and bring some veteran guys in. I think when I sat back and really digested, I guess, the information, that they didn't want me back, that was a little little bit of a tough pill to swallow, but when I really stood back and looked at it from afar, I really understood the decision and I really did, and I'm thankful that I landed in Seattle.”
Ultimately, things worked out much better for Darnold than the Vikings, as he became his new team's unquestioned star while Minnesota had to spend half of the season starting players like Carson Wentz and Max Brosmer due to injuries. Still, it's worth wondering how things would have shaken out if the Vikings did find a way to keep Darnold in Minnesota and if maybe they would have represented the NFC in the Super Bowl instead of the Seahawks.
