The Seattle Seahawks have found the replacement for Geno Smith, agreeing to a three-year, $100.5 million contract with Sam Darnold, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Monday.
The person, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity because teams can’t sign free agents until Wednesday, said $55 million of the contract is guaranteed. Darnold will earn $37.5 million in 2025.
Darnold had a breakthrough season in his only year in Minnesota, throwing for 4,319 yards and 35 TDs while posting a 102.5 passer rating and leading the Vikings to 14 wins.
Darnold was drafted third overall by the New York Jets in 2018, but struggled mightily during three seasons with the Jets and two with Carolina. His 78.2 passer rating during that time ranked third worst among 53 QBs with at least 500 attempts.
But the 27-year-old Darnold has revitalized his career since then.
After spending the 2023 season as a backup in San Francisco, Darnold finally played to his potential for most of the season. His 12 games with multiple TD passes and a passer rating of at least 100 ranking tied for the fourth most ever in a season, trailing only MVP seasons from Aaron Rodgers (2011 and 2020) and Patrick Mahomes (2018).
But Darnold ended his season by posting back-to-back duds in his final two games: a Week 18 game against Detroit for the No. 1 seed in the NFC and a wild-card loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Darnold went 18 for 41 for 166 yards and no TDs in a 31-9 loss to the Lions in Week 18 and then threw for 245 yards and had two turnovers the next week in a 27-9 loss to the Rams.
His performance in those key games contributed to the decision by the Vikings to let Darnold hit the open market and turn the team over to J.J. McCarthy, who was drafted 10th overall last season.
The move for Darnold comes three days after the Seahawks agreed to a deal to send Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders for a third-round draft pick. Smith was entering the final year of his deal and Seattle was unable to agree on an extension, leading to the move to make a switch at quarterback.
The Seahawks are undergoing major changes on offense, having also agreed to trade star receiver D.K. Metcalf to Pittsburgh for a second-round pick and have cut receiver Tyler Lockett.
The trades won’t be official until Wednesday.
The reset in Seattle comes after the Seahawks went 10-7 in coach Mike Macdonald’s first season but missed the playoffs. Seattle has one playoff win in the past eight seasons, beating Philadelphia in a wild-card game in 2019 under coach Pete Carroll. But the Seahawks are looking to get back to the level of Super Bowl contender they had early in Carroll’s tenure and are hoping Darnold can help them get there.
The Seahawks did keep one of their own potential free agents, signing defensive tackle Jarran Reed to a multi-year deal. The 32-year-old Reed played all 17 games last season, with 4 1/2 sacks and 15 quarterback hits.
Reed has 38 1/2 sacks in nine seasons with Seattle, Kansas City and Green Bay.
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