It’s Already Begun for Sam Darnold
Last season was fun for the Minnesota Vikings. Sam Darnold wasn’t supposed to be that dude. Things looked awful when J.J. McCarthy suffered a season-ending injury before the regular season started. It worked out well, though, because Kevin O’Connell has created an incredible infrastructure.
Former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold is going to have to prove the doubters wrong with the Seattle Seahawks.
The first time Coach of the Year put Sam Darnold in a position to win 14 games. The former failed first-round pick parlayed that into an opportunity for another sizable payday. He’s now the man in Seattle and will look to replicate the success without any of the same security blankets.
The Seahawks don’t have a coaching staff that compares to Minnesota’s. They certainly don’t have the offensive talent that Darnold grew accustomed to relying on with the Vikings. If there’s a situation in which he is without a security blanket, this is it.
The questions have already started. Mike Macdonald was asked about who his starter is after Darnold struggled in a portion of OTAs open to the media.
“No, you guys are crazy. I respect that you’ve got to ask it, but it’s just a crazy question. It’s just not going to happen. Sam’s our starting quarterback. We love him. He’s doing a tremendous job,” Macdonald replied.
To be fair, it’s wild for the media to be asking these sorts of questions at the first opportunity they have gotten to see Darnold under center. The Seahawks traded Geno Smith and targeted a veteran to replace him this offseason. It’s also not going to get any quieter if things continue to trend this way.
This is an opportunity that Darnold has earned for himself, but he’s going to need to show he’s more than a byproduct of his environment. Minnesota wanted Daniel Jones back this offseason because they saw him as the second iteration of this same outcome. They didn’t need to over-extend themselves, because J.J. McCarthy can be the guy, too.
Darnold is going to answer a lot of questions this year, and he needs to make sure to control the narrative.
Ted Schwerzler is a blogger from the Twin Cities that is focused on all things Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings. He’s active on Twitter and writes daily for Minnesota Sports Fan. As a former college athlete and avid sports fan, covering our pro teams with a passion has always seemed like such a natural outlet.
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