Sometimes, a quarterback change is more than a move based on potentially greater productivity. In the case of the Seattle Seahawks, the team was fine with trading Geno Smith because there were questions about his leadership qualities. Sam Darnold was seen as a better fit in that aspect.
But how? Even on his best days publicly, Darnold comes across more as a friendly accountant than a Matt Hasselbeck type. He doesn't appear to be a rah-rah guy, and if he tried to do that, he might come across as fake.
Or maybe that perception is completely wrong. According to Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald, it is. Speaking with the media yesterday, Macdonald even used a bad word to describe how, at times, Darnold has a feisty attitude and approach to leading his new team.
Mike Macdonald claims new Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold has a feisty attitude
The coach said, "Sam has a great feel for the offense right now in terms of growing every day. So you can feel the growth. You can feel the improvement, the confidence that we’re doing on that side of the ball, and that we’re growing. It’s exciting to work with. He’s a heck of a competitor...There’s some s*** to him. Don’t mess with him."
The coach said the Seahawks saw Darnold's competitive drive up close last season when Darnold's former team, the Minnesota Vikings, defeated the Seahawks in an extremely close game in Seattle. Last in the fourth quarter, Darnold threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Justin Jefferson to put Minnesota in the lead for good.
One might wonder if Macdonald was being a bit hyperbolic in his praise of Darnold's feistiness, though. Safety Julian Love was asked the same question about the quarterback's internal fire and if Darnold spoke any trash talk, and said the quarterback "talks back to the defense with mostly dad jokes, but he has some swag to him."
Of course, no matter how different the Seahawks' new QB1 acts in the locker room or on the field, he still needs to consistently produce. Geno Smith might have thrown far too many red-zone interceptions, but he also proved he could lead fourth quarter comebacks behind a terrible offensive line.
Darnold has had one good season out of his seven in the NFL, and when pressured, he has often failed. All quarterbacks are worse when facing a consistent pass rush, but Darnold is worse than most.
Before throwing 35 touchdown passes against only 12 interceptions in 2024, while having a sack rate of 8.1 percent, Darnold had a career sack rate of 7.7 percent and had 63 touchdown passes but 56 interceptions. A bad ratio.
The difference in 2024 might be that Darnold had an excellent receiving corps with Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and tight end TJ Hockenson. The Seahawks have talent, but not as much as the Vikings had last season.
The hope is that Darnold learned how to be successful last year and carries that over to the Seahawks in 2025, but uses his feistiness to inspire his team. No matter what his personality is like, if he is throwing nearly as many interceptions as touchdown passes, it won't matter, and the Seahawks will suffer.