Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald has made it clear that Sam Darnold, the team's most expensive free agent this offseason, is going to be the starting quarterback. Seattle believes Darnold should be a great fit in new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak's system. So far in OTAs and camp, Darnold has been fine.
It would help him if the other two quarterbacks on the team weren't doing so well. Darnold has the difficulty of practicing against the Seahawks' first-team defense, which is quite good. Drew Lock has mostly faced the second team, and rookie Jalen Milroe the third team.
In other words, Darnold is at a slight disadvantage. That changes, however, when QB1 is being chased on the depth chart by two QBs, who appear to understand the playbook as well as he does. This includes, of course, Milroe, who, for the second straight training camp practice, has impressed.
Seahawks rookie Jalen Milroe impresses again during training camp
Milroe has shown the ability to read plays as they develop very quickly. One of the knocks on him when he was in college at Alabama was that his decision-making wasn't great. He has elite athleticism, and can outrun most NFL defensive players, but can he avoid turning the ball over when passing?
He is a quarterback, after all, and his first priority is making sure he is a fundamentally sound and efficient passer. Against only third-team players, Milroe is not only hitting receivers in stride, but he is doing so with an understanding of where the ball should go and how much time he has to toss the ball.
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According to Seattle Times reporter Bob Condotta, Milroe is also imposing his own punishments when he does something he thinks he should have done better. On one completion on Thursday, Milroe was a bit off with a pass to rookie wideout Ricky White III, and Milroe was so upset with himself that he dropped to the ground and did double-digit pushups.
Sam Darnold has expressed what a quick study Milroe appears to be, and that he has made a good impression on his fellow quarterbacks and coaches. The rookie still has a lot of room to improve, but it's safe to say he is further along than many people thought he would be in his first training camp.
Jalen Milroe has also proven to have the kind of attitude needed to be a potentially great player. He wants to get better quickly and is doing things, such as mastering the playbook, to rapidly improve. The Seattle Seahawks don't have a quarterback controversy in 2025, but by 2026, they just might.