Here's Why Sam Darnold Left the Minnesota Vikings
The NFL star only played for the team for one season.
Published Sept. 9 2025, 4:37 p.m. ET
As another football season gets underway, fans are wondering why Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold would leave his team of one year, the Minnesota Vikings. Sam played with the team during the 2024 season before leaving the team.
Sam previously played football for the New York Jets from 2018 through 2020, the Carolina Panthers from 2021 through 2022, and the San Francisco 49ers during the 2023 season.
Why did Sam Darnold leave the Minnesota Vikings?
According to Fox Sports, Sam left the Minnesota Vikings after one season to accept a three-year deal with the Seattle Seahawks worth $100 million. NFL insiders reportedly told the outlet that the quarterback's deal is $55 million guaranteed after he became a free agent following one season playing football for the Vikings. Sam was the team's quarterback for the 2024 NFL season.
Sam joined the Minnesota Vikings with a $10 million, one-year deal and scored 4,319 passing yards and had 35 touchdowns. He also led the team to 14 wins and started his first playoff game with the Vikings. According to Sports Illustrated, another factor in Sam's leaving the Minnesota Vikings is the team's leadership prioritizing their relationship with the Vikings' current quarterback, J.J. McCarthy, and failing to "franchise" Sam.
Former NFL cornerback Richard Sherman says he thinks the Minnesota Vikings may have made a mistake in letting Sam go in favor of their current quarterback, per CBS Sports.
The ex-pro cornerback noted that the Vikings' current quarterback performed well in the second half against the Chicago Bears during the 2025 season-opening game, but he criticized the Vikings for not re-signing Sam, whose record with the team is 14-3.
"Not sure JJ McCarthy is the Answer in Minnesota," he wrote on X. "This is the danger of letting the guy who you had success with walk for a guy you 'think' can do the job at a high level."
"Yeah, there isn’t anything to be impressed about," he added about the Vikings' new quarterback. "Not processing fast or a big arm. Has arguably the best play caller in the NFL setting him up for success."
"Bringing up one outlier to try to defend a rookie QB just isn’t a strong argument," he said to a fan who brought up Peyton Manning's loss during his first NFL game. "I can go down a long list of QBs that struggled early and never found their footing."
After a disgruntled fan asked Richard, "You think Sam Darnold was winning a Super Bowl in Minnesota???," he replied, "I think you would be much closer with him than you are now. ... They went 14-3 last season and let the QB walk for an unproven rook. The expectations are high."
One football fan on X agreed with Richard and wrote, "Bring back Sam Darnold, 'cause JJ McCarthy ain’t it, Man."
According to the Associated Press, Sam and the Seattle Seahawks lost to the San Francisco 49ers 17-13 during the season opening on Sept. 7, but coach Mike Macdonald is hopeful for the team's 2025 season.
“We’ve got to maintain the ball better and be more efficient on early downs, convert more on third down,” he said.
"Good two-minute at the end," he added. "I mean, some good stuff, but we got to operate more efficiently and be better on first and second down to give us some third downs where we can convert and keep drives going. ... we’re doing a lot of good stuff."