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It's been an offseason of turnover for the Seattle Seahawks. The offense has been completely overhauled, as general manager John Schneider brought in a new offensive coordinator, new quarterback and reworked the wide receivers room as well. Seattle hoped to sign quarterback Geno Smith to an extension, but was forced to quickly adjust its game plan when those talks stalled.
"You have the best intention to try to make something happen," Seahawks head coach Macdonald said Tuesday, via the Seattle Times. "But I think of it like this computer process in the back of your head like, 'OK, well is this still in line with what's going to be best for us right now and long term?' And when it became obvious that, 'Hey, this is not going to happen,' well you don't want to be caught without a chair at the end of the deal."
The Seahawks found their new quarterback in former Minnesota Vikings signal-caller Sam Darnold, who signed a three-year, $100.5 million deal in free agency. Darnold had his best season in 2024, going 14-3 as the starter while throwing for 4,319 yards, 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. However, he ended the year on a low note by getting blown out in the wild-card round following a crucial Week 18 loss to the Detroit Lions.
Darnold is just 27 years old, and ready to prove he's a high-level starter in this league. Macdonald recently said "there's a lot of things to like" concerning Darnold's fit in Seattle.
"Klint [Kubiak] had a previous relationship with him, too, so relying on him as well," Macdonald said, via Pro Football Talk. "You come from all these different angles with people in the building that have worked with him, even all the way back to his USC days. And, really, to a man, first of all, they love the person. They love the leader, the teammate. The film kind of speaks for itself with the accuracy. [He's] able to push the ball down the field.
"Specifically with us, we move the pocket a little bit now. Sam's a great thrower on the run and is able to make a lot of plays that way and then on those critical downs in the red zone, third down, especially last year he had such a great year. We're going to be counting on him to come through in those situations."
It's interesting that Macdonald brings up Darnold's accuracy going downfield. Last season, Darnold's 34 completions of throws 20+ yards ranked first in the NFL, as did his 49% completion percentage and nine touchdowns when going at least 20 yards downfield. However, Darnold had some good weapons to rely on such as Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson. Seattle's wide receivers room is still a work in progress, but Darnold will have Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who tied a Seahawks franchise record with 100 receptions last season, and Cooper Kupp, who won the NFL's receiving triple crown in 2021.
Two receivers Darnold won't have in Seattle are Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf. The former was released after 10 productive seasons, while the latter asked for a trade and was sent to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"When those things happen there's a process behind the whole thing," Macdonald said about the Metcalf trade request. "So you have to understand who is interested in him, what are the possible opportunities for him to go and then you just never know when it's time to make the decision until it's time to make the decision."
Macdonald believes Darnold is a good fit for his team, but this upcoming season is an important one for him. While Darnold signed a three-year contract, Pro Football Talk reported that Seattle can escape the deal after just one year. In 2026, Darnold has a $17.5 million injury guarantee which reportedly becomes fully guaranteed the week after the Super Bowl, and no guaranteed money in 2027. Still, Macdonald believes the Seahawks can be a Super Bowl contender with Darnold under center.
"I do, yeah,'' Macdonald said. "I do, absolutely."
