How could they not be? Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold's NFL journey almost demands that people pull for him, doesn't it? He's a former first-round, top-three draft pick who became a bust three years later, largely because the franchise that drafted him ruined him, and also because Darnold never seemed to get comfortable going from college to the pros.
How the trajectory of an NFL career has changed, though, Darnold's comeback might be the best the NFL has ever seen. The Seahawks are less than two weeks away from playing for the Super Bowl, and Darnold has led them there.
Was his regular season perfect? By no means was it perfect; he had many ups and downs, especially in the season's back half. Yet his locker room never lost faith, and in the end, Darnold has led the Seahawks to this point, changing many perspectives about his career, including those of an NFL legend and Super Bowl-winning quarterback who once played on the Seahawks' No. 1 rival.
Joe Montana is pulling for Seahawks' Sam Darnold after a rocky road path has led him to a Super Bowl
Darnold's career was unquestionably compromised from the beginning by the New York Jets' inability to develop quarterbacks. The Jets have been one of the more dysfunctional NFL franchises over the past two decades, and Darnold had to go through that reality.
Some of it fell on him because he simply didn't appear ready to be an NFL quarterback until six years into his career, but that doesn't mean there weren't other contributing factors as well. Still, as rocky as it was, Darnold did one thing without fail: he persevered.
His perseverance is why he is where he is today and on the verge of sticking with one franchise for the long term. Darnold’s story, coupled with his success in Seattle this season, has to have Seahawks fans pulling for him, not to mention NFL fans everywhere. Who doesn't love a redemption story, anyway?
In 2023, while Darnold spent some time under Kyle Shanahan with the San Francisco 49ers, Shanahan made what was considered, at the time, a ludicrous statement, claiming that Darnold possessed the talent and abilities similar to those of Steve Young, who, by the way, is a Super Bowl-winning, Hall of Fame quarterback.
At the time, Shanahan said that Darnold just needed to be in the right situation to get it right. Shanahan was clearly not delusional, and, unfortunately for him, that right situation is the Seahawks, his division rivals. Shanahan isn't the only 49ers figure to have expressed confidence in Darnold, though, as another 49ers quarterback legend, Joe Montana, recently issued his own statement of confidence.
While appearing on The Pat McAfee Show recently, Montana had this to say about Darnold, "I'm for Sam Darnold, the things that he's been through, the places that he's played, the games he's won.....I'm pulling for him......I'm all for Sam. He's a good guy and a good player, and I'm happy for him."
If notable members of the 49ers past and present have so much confidence in Darnold — you can bet that Young also shares some belief in him — then how much more belief do the Seahawks' faithful have in Darnold?