The Seahawks have had an interesting offseason, which now includes adding a former 49ers quarterback in Sam Darnold.
Veteran quarterback Sam Darnold turned his one-year tenure with the San Francisco 49ers back in 2023 into quite the storybook turnaround.
Despite serving as a backup to Brock Purdy that year, Darnold nevertheless convinced the Minnesota Vikings to take a chance on him the following offseason, albeit as a proposed backup to the Norsemen's first-round draftee, quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
But, after McCarthy was lost for the year with a knee injury, Darnold became the guy.
The former top pick of the New York Jets from the 2018 draft flourished, too, even beating his old Niners squad in a Week 2 showdown at U.S. Bank Stadium.
2024 created a bit of a conundrum for Minnesota. Should it retain Darnold after his success last season? Or should it turn the page to McCarthy, as was the original intention an offseason ago prior to the rookie's injury.
It seems as if the decision is already made, and it'll be one that piques San Francisco's interest.
Sam Darnold heads out to NFC West, joins Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks, meanwhile, have already endured a tumultuous offseason of their own, releasing wide receiver Tyler Lockett and trading away his receiving partner, DK Metcalf, after the latter requested to be moved.
On top of that, and despite his own successes there, the Hawks parted ways with quarterback Geno Smith, too, opening the door to a would-be replacement.
Turns out, that replacement is now Darnold, who heads to the Pacific Northwest on a three-year deal that includes $55 million guaranteed, as reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Darnold now gets the opportunity to face his former employer twice a year, and the NFC West rivalry should heat back up a little bit heading into 2025 with a familiar face now on the opposite side of the line of scrimmage.
For the 49ers, their hope will be Darnold reverts back to the pre-2023 version that largely flamed out with both the Jets and Carolina Panthers and not the one who took the league by storm during his lone year in Minnesota.
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