Seahawks betting on Sam Darnold to take leap next season

Seahawks betting on Sam Darnold to take leap next season originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider believes quarterback Sam Darnold could take a big leap in 2026.

In a recent interview with FOX Sports, Eric Williams, Schneider said that he thinks the former USC product can be even better than he was last season.

"He’s going to be that much more comfortable from being around his team," Schneider said. "Just his relationship with Coop and Rashid. Like, Rashid came in during the season, so that takes a minute to build chemistry. He gets another year with Jax (Smith-Njigba), and we have a really cool tight end group — [Elijah] Arroyo and [A.J.] Barner did a great job.

"He can play even better."

Darnold has had back-to-back incredible seasons. He's tallied 28 wins in the regular season with the Minnesota Vikings and the Seahawks. His numbers were far better in 2024, but his 2025 season came with some hardware in the form of a Lombardi Trophy.

Still, in 2025, Darnold recorded a career-high in completion percentage (67.7) and reached 4,000+ yards for the second consecutive season.

"Yeah, I know it’s crazy to say that because he won 14 games last year," Schneider said. "But we’ve always said Sam is just a football player. When you take the quarterbacking out of it – all the quarterback schools and stuff that you go to – he’s just a football player."

The 28-year-old will look to lead Seattle back to the mountain top, but this time, all eyes will be on the Seahawks. After bouncing around from team to team for most of his career, it appears Darnold has found a permanent home in the Pacific Northwest.