The Seattle Seahawks need to find a new starting quarterback to replace the recently traded Geno Smith. The team now has the cap room to be able to bid competitively against any other team in search of a QB. Seattle also has been rumored to have a favorite in their search for a new QB1.
According to the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the "front-runner" to be the team's next quarterback is Sam Darnold. He is just 27 years old, so seven years younger than Smith, and he had a fantastic 2024 until the last two games of the year. The issue with Darnold might be two-fold, though.
One is that to sign Darnold, the Seahawks would likely need to offer a deal that is worth about $45 million a season for three to four years. If Seattle was initially iffy to offer that to Smith, does it make sense it would offer that much to one-year wonder Darnold? Maybe the age gap between the two quarterbacks is great enough to make the money more worth it to add Darnold.
Sam Darnold considered the "front-runner" to be the Seattle Seahawks next quarterback.
Maybe Darnold finally found the right system with the Minnesota Vikings, and that led to his ascension as a very efficient NFL quarterback. Could the same hold true in Seattle? The Seahawks hired a new offensive coordinator, Klint Kubiak, this offseason, and Kubiak's system would seem to be a great fit for Darnold.
At his best, Darnold is buoyed by a good running attack and an offense that uses play-action. That is exactly what Kubiak's offense is designed to do. Plus, the Seahawks have the running backs with Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet to be potent. That is if Seattle fixes one issue.
That problem doesn't have anything to do with the quarterback position, either. Seattle has to fix its offensive line, and maybe general manager John Schneider will address that in free agency. Seattle has also picked up a couple of higher-round draft picks, so the team could grab a highly rated guard early in the 2025 NFL draft, too.
Still, Kubiak's system should be better designed to help a poor offensive line, as there will be fewer straight drop-backs and a bit more disguising what the play-call actually is. But after the trades of Geno Smith and DK Metcalf and the release of Tyler Lockett, Seattle's skill position group is greatly diminished. A much better offensive line would help everyone involved, including, potentially, Sam Darnold.
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