Sam Darnold is starting to show what he can do in his fourth team. Baker Mayfield and Geno Smith did the same, and Jared Goff found success on his second team.
Some quarterbacks just need a second chance. Or third. Or fourth.
Darnold was meant to be a temporary player in Minnesota, signed to a one-year, $10 million deal to hold the spot for J.J. McCarthy. But when the rookie first-round pick got a serious knee injury in August, Darnold took advantage of the chance.
The Vikings (5-0) are the only undefeated team in the NFC as they head into their bye week, and Darnold has been a big part of their success. He has completed 63.5% of his passes for 1,111 yards, with 11 touchdowns and four interceptions, giving him a passer rating of 103.4.
“I knew all along if we could get some guys open, Sam Darnold’s going to hit them because he’s talented. He can play quarterback in the NFL, I’ve always believed that. I’m just proud of him,” said Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell on Pat McAfee’s show this week.
“He’s kind of not really worried about anything other than just his role on our team. He’s one of our captains. He works as hard as anybody to be ready to go. I’m not surprised when he goes out and has success.”
Darnold was picked by the Jets with the No. 3 overall pick in 2018 but only lasted three seasons in New York. He played under two coaches—Todd Bowles and Adam Gase—and was part of teams that went 13-35. After that, he spent two seasons in Carolina, where he played for two coaches—Matt Rhule and Steve Wilks—and three offensive coordinators on teams that went 12-22.
In 2022, he shared a chaotic year in Carolina with Mayfield, and last season he backed up Brock Purdy in San Francisco. Mayfield moved from the Panthers to the Rams in 2022 and then landed in Tampa Bay last year.
Good coaching and a strong team are important.
Darnold has that in Minnesota with O’Connell, Justin Jefferson, Aaron Jones, and others.
“A lot of guys with ability sometimes get into a different situation or system and they do really well, and sometimes they don’t,” said six-time Super Bowl champion coach Bill Belichick on SiriusXM show “Let’s Go!” “We’ve all seen many players, like Tom Brady, improve a lot over their careers, which is amazing.
It’s not about where you’ve been. It’s about where you’re going and how hard you’re willing to work at it.” Darnold didn’t blame the culture in New York or the instability of the organization for his struggles.
“I had a lot of opportunities in New York, and I always felt like I could have played better there,” Darnold said last week in London before the Vikings defeated Aaron Rodgers and the Jets 23-17.
Darnold wasn’t at his best against his former team. He completed only 45.2% of his passes and had a 50.3 passer rating, marking the first time he was under 100 this season.
But Darnold showed calmness and determination. He recovered from an interception and threw a 25-yard pass to Jefferson on second-and-9, helping to continue a fourth-quarter drive that ended in a field goal after the Jets had narrowed the score to 20-17.
“What I was proud of with Sam was it was another example of when momentum had kind of turned in many ways by our own doing, he was able to jog back out on that field, walk into the huddle, and move the team,” O’Connell said.
Darnold might have been a candidate for the Comeback Player of the Year award before the AP gave guidance to voters before the season.
They explained that “the spirit of the award is to honor a player who has demonstrated resilience in the face of adversity by overcoming illness, physical injury, or other circumstances that led him to miss playing time the previous season.”
