The Seattle Seahawks are leading the league in giveaways with 20, and Sam Darnold’s got 15 of those (10 interceptions and five fumbles). That’s not good.
Bump confident Seahawks QB Darnold will ‘bounce back’
But even with that in mind, and with the bad taste of a four-interception game against the Rams on Sunday, the Seahawks aced it here. In fact, a massive return from offseason additions and decisions has been a massive theme in their 2025 campaign.
Let’s grade those decisions over halfway through the 2025 season.
The decision: Trade QB Geno Smith and sign Sam Darnold.
• Grade: A
Let’s start with the biggest. Darnold’s worst game of the season brought with it fair criticism, but there’s not a single thing he did in Week 11 to make this anything but a sterling grade for the Seahawks.
SAM DARNOLD FOUR TD PASSES IN THE FIRST HALF.
SEAvsWAS on NBC
Stream on @NFLPlus + Peacock pic.twitter.com/fax1SUUUBo
— NFL (@NFL) November 3, 2025
Consider their options at the time: Pay Geno Smith more or commit to him with guaranteed money in 2026; trade Smith and draft a rookie; or trade Smith and sign a free agent. Moving on made sense in hindsight, what with Smith’s great relationship with new Raiders coach Pete Carroll and the feeling he had of not quite fitting in with Seattle. But it left the Seahawks with a ton of questions. After all, while Smith hadn’t proven he was a top quarterback, he had shown he could keep them afloat and make a few electric throws. Could a new passer do the same behind an offensive line that had ranked in the bottom third of the league for a decade?
Free agent options included Justin Fields (now benched in New York for Tyrod Taylor), Russell Wilson (which wasn’t going to happen), Aaron Rodgers (a heavy favorite for the Steelers all offseason), Mac Jones (solid in relief of Brock Purdy), or Daniel Jones. Give credit here to Jones, who has had a resurgence on a one-year deal with Indianapolis. But the Colts will be back in an offseason of question marks if they can’t re-sign him. The Seahawks passed on Jaxon Dart as a rookie answer, but it was for a fair reason (and they ended up taking Jalen Milroe in the third).
The decision: Go with the trenches two years in a row.
• Grade: B+
I cheated a little with this one, but it’s relevant to this season. The only thing keeping Seattle from an A is the great players on the board behind them in 2024 and 2025. Last year’s defensive rookie of the year (Jared Verse) was there when Seattle picked, as was this year’s favorite for offensive rookie of the year (Emeka Egbuka).
Much like Devon Witherspoon over Jalen Carter in 2023, you’ll always have a what-if moment with those types of picks. But the Seahawks desperately needed to be better in the trenches, knew that, and made two decisions are paying off right now. Byron Murphy II has five sacks and 15 pressures in his sophomore season, while rookie guard Grey Zabel hasn’t yet allowed a sack.
The decision: Hire Klint Kubiak as offensive coordinator.
• Grade: A
All due respect to Ryan Grubb, Seattle’s OC in 2025, but moving on from him felt inevitable before the season was over. Grubb’s plan wasn’t playing to Seattle’s strengths and often left his quarterback and O-line exposed. The run game had stalled, and that’s a problem for Mike Macdonald’s team.
I don’t know whether current Jags OC Grant Udinski – a rumored candidate for Seattle back in January – would be lighting it up in Seattle, nor can I predict now that he won’t go on to be a fantastic coordinator. The only obvious thing is that right now, in Week 12 of 2025, Kubiak’s offense is third in points per game. If Seattle can get the run game fired up, this will quietly be one of the better offseason hires league-wide.
The decision: A wide receiver room shuffle.
• Grade: B+
The Marquez Valdes-Scantling signing and his $3 million in dead money was a miss, and Cooper Kupp has 390 yards and a touchdown. But does any of that matter when Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s on pace to set a new single-season receiving yards record? DK Metcalf is having a solid season with Pittsburgh and is set to outpace his 2024 production in Seattle, but how much can you knock a team for trading a player who requested a trade?
If this could be combined right now with a healthy Tory Horton and the tight end room, it’s an A.
The decision: Extend Ernest Jones IV.
• Grade: A
Jones and the Seahawks agreed to a three-year deal worth up to $33 million back in March. Seattle’s defense is very, very good right now… but if there was a position group thin on top-tier talent or proven depth, it would be inside linebacker. And it’s precisely why locking Jones down was so important.
Pivotal to second-half improvements in 2024, particularly against the run, Jones remains incredibly underrated as a player and has morphed into one of this team’s clear leaders, setting the tone not only for the defense but also in defense of his teammates to the public.
You heard him. pic.twitter.com/4Hdh5roGYt
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) November 17, 2025
More on the Seattle Seahawks
• Seahawks sign Jerry Rice’s son to practice squad
• Daniel Jeremiah: Seahawks were ‘clearly the better team’ vs. Rams
• Status Report: Seahawks can build on strong defensive showing in loss
• Breaking down Seahawks’ chances in tight NFC West race
• Seattle Seahawks Takeaways: Macdonald continues to impress in one area