The Seattle Seahawks are forging a new path under center this season, having traded away veteran Geno Smith and placed their faith in Sam Darnold. As Darnold steps into this significant role, he’s already fielding challenges over his performance. During the first OTAs open to media scrutiny, Darnold hit a snag, tossing two red-zone interceptions over a brief, three-play series.
The thorny start led Mike Salk of Seattle Sports 710 to probe whether, barring injury, any scenario might prompt head coach Mike Macdonald to rethink Darnold's role as the starting quarterback.
Macdonald swatted away the speculation with decisive confidence, responding, “No, no, you guys are crazy,” as relayed by a video from the station. “I respect you’ve got to ask it, but it’s just a crazy question. It’s not gonna happen. Sam’s our starting quarterback. We love him. He’s doing a tremendous job.”
Leaning into humor, Macdonald critiqued the rush to judgment so typical of early practice observations. “I think it’s funny that the media is out there for the first day and all of a sudden they know exactly how good we’re going to be,” he quipped, emphasizing the early stage of training. Without pads and no tackles yet, Macdonald underscored his philosophy on practice - it’s a safe haven for learning from mistakes.
“We want these guys to go prepare the right way, and then when they get out on the practice field, go freakin’ let it rip,” Macdonald urged. “And then we’ll go fix it. We’ve got time. It’s June 3rd. We’ll go. They’re going to get plenty of reps.”
Putting the struggle in perspective, Macdonald reminded everyone of Darnold’s strong performance during the session, noting, “Sam made a lot of great throws yesterday. He’s gashing us to start the day out, too. So, that was kind of a crazy question.”
Having led the Minnesota Vikings through a robust season with over 4,319 passing yards and 35 touchdowns last year, Darnold signed a three-year deal with the Seahawks in March. The team also bolstered the quarterback ranks with Drew Lock and rookie Jalen Milroe offering depth.
