Sam Darnold Is THE Comeback Story of a Comeback Year — and He Might Be the Comeback That Creates More Comebacks
Read that again. I’ll wait.
Let’s wind the clocks back to 2020.
Everything was peaceful in the world. No chaos. No division. A totally chill, respectful presidential election where everyone was cordial and calmly agreed to disagree.
So yeah—everyone was fine, except Sam Darnold.
Darnold was quarterbacking the Jets, throwing 9 touchdowns to 11 interceptions, and leading a team that won just two games. The Jets responded the only way the Jets know how: they burned everything to the ground.
New head coach. New GM. New quarterback.
They drafted Zach Wilson and shipped Darnold to Carolina for three draft picks.
That was the start of Darnold’s exile.
Rock Bottom (Aka the Carolina Pussycats)
In Carolina, Darnold struggled in his first season, and then reached a career low. Just one year after trading for him, the Panthers traded for fellow 2018 first-rounder Baker Mayfield, who promptly took Darnold’s job.
For most quarterbacks, that’s it. You’re officially a backup quarterback. Maybe you’ll get a shot to be someone’s bridge quarterback for a year if you’re lucky, but the franchise quarterback dream is over.
Sam Darnold, being the badass that he is, refused to accept those terms.
Like Bruce Willis in literally every movie he’s ever made, he got up—bloodied, underestimated, and angry—and started climbing back up the mountain.
The Climb Back
2022:
Mayfield flames out. P.J. Walker gets benched. Chaos reigns. Darnold steps back in and finishes the season throwing 7 touchdowns to 3 interceptions with a 92.6 passer rating. Okay, so he’s got some fight in him.
2023:
Darnold signs with the 49ers as a free agent, backing up Brock Purdy, while first round selection Trey Lance is still in the building.
Darnold beats Lance out for the backup job.
The 49ers ship Lance to Dallas.
Darnold’s once again a backup, but in a much, much better organization.
2024:
Darnold signs with Minnesota after the Vikings let Kirk Cousins walk. They draft J.J. McCarthy, but the plan is clear: Darnold starts until the rookie is ready.
Monkey wrench: McCarthy gets hurt.
Good monkey wrench: Darnold goes nuclear.
35 touchdowns.
12 interceptions.
4,319 yards.
102.9 passer rating.
If you don’t follow stats closely, let me translate: Those are damn good numbers.
The Vikings lose a Week 18 game to Detroit that would’ve secured the No. 1 seed, then fall to the Rams in the Wild Card round. Despite reported interest in bringing him back, Minnesota hands the keys to their rookie and lets Darnold walk.
As a Seahawks fan—and someone who publicly criticized that decision—allow me to say:
Thank you!
Sunday: The Final Duel
Fast forward to Sunday.
Sam Darnold is a Super Bowl–winning quarterback for his fifth team—the Seattle Seahawks.
Cast out by the Jets.
Discarded by the Panthers.
Passed on by the Vikings.
Now the Super Bowl Champion!
Former Seahawks QB Geno Smith once said “They wrote me off. I ain’t write back though.”
I’ll write back for Sam!
Jets — you fucked up.
Panthers — you fucked up.
49ers — fine, you already had your guy… but we won a Super Bowl on your field anyway, cucks.
Vikings — you really fucked up.
A Comeback Year Across the League
Darnold headlined it—but this season was loaded with second chances.
Mike Vrabel went from fired in Tennessee to turning a 4-win Patriots team to the Super Bowl runner up—and winning Coach of the Year.
Daniel Jones went from Giants bust to Vikings emergency QB to an 8-2 starter in Indianapolis before a season-ending injury.
(Also worth noting: the Vikings had both Darnold and Daniel Jones last year… and let both walk. Like I said, Vikings — you really fucked up.)The Panthers made the playoffs for the first time since 2017.
Caleb Williams and the Bears came within one play of the NFC Championship.
It raises the obvious question:
Who’s next? Who has the public and sports media given up on that can still come back?
The Next Redemption Candidate
If you follow me on YouTube, Instagram, X or TikTok (Or here on Substack; @RealSeattleMike on all of them) You already know my answer.
Zachary Kapono Wilson. (Sick middle name, by the way.)
Like Darnold, Wilson was drafted high by the Jets—and promptly set on fire by the organization. In Wilson’s three seasons with New York, the Jets’ offensive line never ranked higher than 20th. The best receiver he had was Garrett Wilson—who ranked 15th league-wide.
The Jets never built an environment for him to succeed.
Sound familiar?
Darnold’s best receiver with the Jets and Panthers was Robbie Chosen. That’s a far cry from Justin Jefferson or Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who ranked 2nd and 1st respectively with Darnold as their quarterback.
Amazing what can happen when you give a quarterback somebody to throw to.
What Comes Next
Wilson is headed toward free agency after brief backup stints with the Broncos and the Dolphins. There should be interest from quarterback-needy teams like the Falcons or Cardinals.
He should avoid the Jets like the plague.
The Raiders are likely drafting their quarterback of the future (Mendoza out of Indiana).
But Darnold just proved something important:
You can be drafted by the Jets…And still win a Super Bowl.
I’m calling it now—Zach Wilson is the next quarterback comeback story. And if he pulls it off, the Jets will have created two Super Bowl winners without ever realizing it.
