The Seattle Seahawks gambled their short-term future when they traded quarterback Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders. Doing so opened the door for quarterback Sam Darnold to take the reins, capitalizing on the momentum of his resurgent season.
Among the passers that moved teams in 2025, Seattle has come away as the biggest winner. However, the Seahawks weren’t the only team interested in Darnold’s services.
Sam Darnold Had Other Free Agency Suitors
Seattle wasn’t the only team hoping to leave quarterback purgatory in free agency. The Pittsburgh Steelers, though, have seemed content with mediocre quarterbacking, paving the way for an early-round exit.
This season, that meant turning to Aaron Rodgers on the wrong side of his 40th birthday. It ended unsurprisingly, and Pittsburgh was subsequently criticized for its mismanagement. Yet, it’s worth considering how the football world’s perception of the Steelers would have changed if they landed Darnold instead.
According to Albert Breer, Pittsburgh had real interest in the 2018 first-round pick.
“Schneider liked Darnold as a replacement, but also knew Minnesota was trying to keep him and that the Steelers would be involved, too,” Breer wrote. “Still, Seattle had a combination of two things the others couldn’t match.
“One was geography. The Dana Point, Calif., native and former USC quarterback liked the idea of going back to the West Coast. Second, was the chance to become the team’s long-term answer, which Pittsburgh, in theory, could put on the table, but Minnesota, with its investment in J.J. McCarthy, had a harder time doing.”
Ultimately, Darnold chose Seattle, and the rest was history. He followed up his breakout campaign with another strong season, ranking 13th in PFSN’s NFL QB Impact Metric. He wound up playing his best football down the stretch, two divisional rivals in the playoffs to earn a spot in the Super Bowl.
Pittsburgh, meanwhile, was embarrassed in the AFC Wild Card Round for the third consecutive season.
It isn’t immediately clear what the Steelers offered Darnold, other than a spot to start. In Seattle, Darnold’s three-year, $100.5 million contract established that he would be the quarterback of the future. A $32 million signing bonus probably didn’t hurt, either.
Landing with the Seahawks was a strong on-field fit, too. Seattle’s defense dominated the NFC and allowed Darnold to operate with a lead more often than not. Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak found additional success on the ground, and receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba blossomed into a true superstar.
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On his fifth team, Darnold took advantage of the best supporting cast of his career. While Pittsburgh couldn’t offer the same talent, a second strong season has added evidence to the idea that Darnold can elevate an offense, raising the Steelers’ ceiling and offering light at the end of the mediocre-offense tunnel.
Instead, the Pittsburgh faithful will have to settle for a win over the AFC rival New England Patriots.
