Sportsnaut
At the outset of the offseason, it seemed like the Seattle Seahawks would be running it back with Geno Smith as their quarterback in 2025. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the Seahawks dealt their two-time Pro Bowl quarterback to the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for a third-round pick.
That meant the Seahawks had to find a new starting quarterback, but they quickly pivoted to signing the best one available, Sam Darnold, who had been coming off a career year. Darnold, who was inked to a three-year, $100 million contract, immediately became entrenched as the new franchise quarterback in Seattle.
Then, the Seahawks double-dipped, by selecting Alabama’s Jalen Milroe in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft. However, since Milroe is a dual-threat weapon, some didn’t think he’d provide an immediate threat to Darnold.
That may not be the case, after Darnold threw two red-zone interceptions in a span of just three plays during the very first Seahawks OTA practice available to the media. Later, Mike Salk of Seattle Sports 710 radio peppered head coach Mike Macdonald with questions, including whether there was a possibility that Darnold could get benched for backup Drew Lock or for the promising rookie.
Macdonald really despised this line of questioning, calling it “crazy” while throwing his full support behind Darnold as the Seahawks’ starting QB.
"Sam's our starting quarterback."#Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald to @BrockHuard & @TheMikeSalk on @SeattleSports.
FULL VIDEO 📺: https://t.co/2nHH3MqeNL pic.twitter.com/ZSwNxMOpR7
— Seattle Sports (@SeattleSports) June 3, 2025
Well, crazier things have happened. Still, asking if Darnold could get benched based off a very small sample size feels like a vast overreaction. Then again, this is also an example of the media simply doing its job.
They witnessed a player hit a rough stretch, which naturally prompted some questions. It’s the same response any football enthusiast would have if they were watching a game on TV.
Luckily for the Seahawks, this wasn’t on TV, and they’re still very early in the process of building chemistry with new receivers. In other words, Darnold may just need some time to iron out the kinks.
Of course, if things don’t improve, Macdonald had better get used to a lot more questions about who his starting quarterback will be. But that’s the speculation they invited as soon as the decision was made to select Milroe in the third round.
Related: 2025 NFL QB Rankings: Where does Sam Darnold rank?
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