Sam Darnold proved many doubters wrong by winning the Super Bowl this year. He did so in his first season with the Seattle Seahawks after the Minnesota Vikings moved on from him. One of their franchise legends recently issued an apology to the quarterback for not believing in him.
Sam Darnold Receives Apology From Vikings Legend After Winning Super Bowl With Seahawks
Darnold was impressive in his only season with the Vikings last year, posting a 14-3 record and advancing to the playoffs. This apparently wasn’t enough for him to lock down the long-term starting quarterback job, so he joined the Seahawks for the 2025 NFL season.
His first year with his new team ended with a Super Bowl victory, and he earned apologies from many who had doubted his capabilities. One of those was from Vikings legend Jared Allen, who recently admitted that he was wrong about the quarterback.
“I had to apologize because I didn’t believe he could do it … I was concerned, because I didn’t think that he had that big-game capability in him … As a fan, and as a former player, it was concerning, because in the biggest moments, the guy we needed to handle the ball properly, didn’t … For someone to go and learn from those mistakes, and then go out and conquer those demons, hats off to him,” stated Allen.
Allen explained that the way Darnold’s season ended with the Vikings last year left him with serious doubts about his ability to lead a deep playoff run. He lost the final game of the regular season, which cost them the NFC North title, and was then eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.
This may also have contributed to the franchise deciding not to extend his contract and to his ultimately landing with the Seahawks. The Vikings also opted to give J.J. McCarthy their starting quarterback job, despite missing his entire rookie season in the year before with an injury. Their gamble seems to have backfired as they missed the playoffs this year.
Darnold proved that the doubters were wrong about his ability to show up in the big moments and capped it off with a Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots. Allen admitted he was wrong about his projections for the quarterback, and the Vikings may be feeling the same way. He finished the year 13th among all quarterbacks in PFSN’s Impact Rankings, while McCarthy came in at just 37th.
