Two of the biggest moves the 2025 NFL offseason saw were the Las Vegas Raiders trading for Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith. Smith's exit led to the Seahawks replacing him with former Minnesota Vikings star signal caller Sam Darnold.
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Darnold returns to the NFC West and spoke with Newsweek Sports about his new partnership with Lowe's, returning to the West Coast, and his resurgence in 2024.
Talk about your partnership with the Lowe's Foundation
"I partnered with Skills USA, and we had several kids who were actually able to go into their skill trades. We were able to hang out with them, their families on this very important day for them ... it hits home for me too, to be able to see my dad because my dad's been a plumber for the last 30 plus years."
"I think it was the largest Signing Day event to date, there were several kids there all their families and even their future employers were there being able to support these kids as they close the book on high school and enter into their new passion in the skills trade work, because me and my dad, we've actually talked about it for years on end, but feel like it's kind of a lost art. You know, the skill workers and what they're able to do, and, like I said, the impacts that they're able to have on their communities."
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How are you feeling about everything after joining the Seattle Seahawks?
"Yeah, it's been great, man. You know, it's been great to be able to, like I said in the beginning, just spend time in Seattle, hang out with my teammates, hang out with my coaches, and just enjoy the area. And then be able to meet fans every now and then, you know, just bumping into fans on the street, like these fans are, you know, I've gotten to play here the last couple of years, and these fans are some of the best that I've seen, the loudest that I've seen. And it's a special place. They sure do love their football. And, you know, I'm excited to play for this franchise."
What was the thought process in selecting the Seahawks?
Yeah, I think when it comes to deciding on Seattle, I think the biggest thing was just there being mutual interest there. You know, when I found out about the Geno trade, I knew that that was a very, very good possibility that I could end up there. But I still had to do my, you know, due diligence and my homework on kind of all these, these other places that, you know, we're reaching out and, you know, I think at the end of the day, like there was so much mutual interest both ways. You know, a really good defense. Obviously, Coach McDonald has those boys over there firing, and you know, going up against that scheme last year, it's a great scheme. And then the offensive weapons that we have, I mean, you know, there's a ton of weapons out there."
How excited are you to play with Cooper Kupp?
"So excited. I mean, I've seen Cooper from afar. We've gotten to chat a little bit, you know, before games and such. But just to, just to be able to, you know, hang out with him for a little bit and get to know, you know, his beautiful mind man, he's like a quarterback out there playing receiver. And you know, he's, he's trying his best right now to understand the system and get the formations, get the concepts, and kind of see how he can, you know, just affect the game and all ways possible. And it's special to play with a player like that that just wants to get better every single day because that, at the end of the day, that's contagious."
What transpired, or what led to this resurgence and this new era of your playing career?
"Yeah, I think it's just understanding myself as a quarterback, understanding the scheme of what we're trying to do, and how a defense is trying to play us. And there are so many different things, right, that go into playing quarterback, and for me, it was just making everything simple. What are my reads on every single play? How are we attacking the defense? Like, if we get zone, if we get blitzed, if we get man, what are my different outs on every play? And you know, when I broke it down that way and kept it simple and just made it especially on first and second down, just made it about getting completions, that's when it really changed. You know, I felt like my game really went to the next level is just finding completions on first and second down, if things aren't necessarily there, being able to, you know, throw the ball away or, you know, just not take negatives."
Was there ever a kind of worry for you to be labeled as a journeyman quarterback?
"No, at the end of the day, I have a lot of respect for anybody in the NFL. You know, I should follow that up by also saying, like, I don't really care what anybody labels me as, or labels anyone as, at the end of the day. Like, we're all, we're all playing this, this tough position, you know, one of the hardest positions in all of sports. And you know, I'm just here to do my best to help the team win. And if I can just continue to do that every single day, man, I'll be a happy man, absolutely."
How important is you to be back on the West Coast
"I love it. I grew up in Orange County, California, and so it's still about a two and a half hour flight, but it's, it's awesome, man. Just to first of all, I think the West Coast time zone is the best time zone, I will say. And there's going to be a lot of people coming at me with that comment. But I love the fact that I love the fact that all these games that we're watching the playoffs right now are starting early."
To watch the entire interview, watch the video above.
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