What Huard wants to see in Darnold's Seattle Seahawks debut

It appears Sam Darnold is likely to make his Seattle Seahawks debut in Friday night’s preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

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Darnold, along with most of Seattle’s starters, sat out last week’s preseason opener. But on Wednesday, Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald indicated the plan is for the bulk of their starters to get at least a little action on Friday, including Darnold.

“I don’t think we need to, but I think it’s the best thing for us,” Macdonald said when asked about playing Darnold and the first-team offense.

If Darnold does indeed take his first snaps with the Seahawks on Friday night, what should observers focus on? Former NFL quarterback Brock Huard said it all starts with Darnold’s footwork.

“When it comes to Sam, you need to see his feet,” Huard said. “When he struggles, that’s where it is. You’ll see it in his feet. … When the ball gets airmailed, you’ll see it mechanically. You’ll see it in the calmness of his body and his feet and everything else.

“And I think over these three weeks, there has been just a nice buildup. And hopefully Friday night, we’ll see the same. (Hopefully) we’ll see that ball out on time, on rhythm, on point. I think he’s felt more and more comfortable.”

Darnold, a former No. 3 overall pick, is coming off a breakout Pro Bowl season with the Minnesota Vikings that resurrected his once-disappointing NFL career. The former USC standout led the Vikings to a 14-3 regular season and orchestrated five game-winning drives last fall, while finishing fifth in the league in both passing yardage and touchdown passes.

However, the luster of Darnold’s breakthrough was somewhat dulled by a rough finish, as he struggled in a blowout Week 18 loss to the Detroit Lions and an ugly wild-card playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

With the Vikings making it clear that their QB of the future is 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy – who missed his entire rookie year with a torn meniscus – Darnold entered free agency this offseason and signed a three-year, $100.5 million deal with the Seahawks.

And now, Darnold enters 2025 as one of the bigger mysteries in the NFL. Will he revert to his pre-2024 form? Or will he prove that last year’s breakthrough wasn’t a one-hit wonder?

The answers to those questions won’t come until later this fall. But nevertheless, Darnold figures to be the headline Friday night.

“It will certainly be all eyes on Sam Darnold,” Huard said.

Listen to the full Brock and Salk conversation at this link or in the audio player near the middle of this story. Tune into Brock and Salk weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

What Huard wants to see in Darnold’s Seattle Seahawks debut

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