The Seattle Seahawks made the sizable decision to swap out starting quarterbacks this offseason. After trading Geno Smith to Pete Carroll and the Las Vegas Raiders on March 7, the team quickly signed Sam Darnold one week later to a three-year, $100.5 million contract. Darnold was the best quarterback available in free agency, and the Seahawks landed their top target.
Pro Football Focus recently combed through all 32 teams’ offseasons and ranked their respective biggest additions. Unsurprisingly, Darnold was the choice for the Seahawks. Darnold’s 2025 form will largely dictate Seattle’s successes or failures this coming season.
“Sam Darnold excelled in his lone year in Minnesota, particularly in play-action scenarios, where he earned the fifth-best passing grade in the NFL,” Dalton Wasserman wrote, noting Darnold’s 88.5 play-action passing grade in 2024. “One of the players ahead of Darnold in those rankings was Derek Carr, who ranked second with a 92.6 play-action passing grade. The common denominator is that Carr’s offensive coordinator, Klint Kubiak, will now be calling plays for Seattle. Kubiak was also Darnold’s quarterbacks coach in 2023 in San Francisco, so the familiarity between the two should lay a foundation for success in 2025.”
Darnold’s connection with Kubiak could help him achieve instant success in Seattle. The Seahawks also have a vision to upgrade their rushing attack, removing some of the onus from the starting quarterback, while making play-action concepts easier to call. Darnold was definitely Seattle’s most important offseason acquisition.