Darnold squashed a lot of narratives surrounding him in 2025, but he isn't interested in those that are hanging around in 2026.
The 2025 season for Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold will be remembered for a lot of reasons, most notably the Super Bowl win.
But what it will also be remembered for is the narratives that Darnold put an end to.
The "bust" label is the big one, with Darnold again leading a team to 14 wins in the regular season, but the playoffs were where everyone wanted to see if Sam was still the same old Sam.
And he wasn't.
Rattling off three straight wins en route to the Super Bowl, he also didn't have a single turnover either. Narratives were squashed.
But as training camp rolls along, when asked if all of those narratives have been put to bed, Darnold had an ideal answer.
“I don’t allow myself to really pay attention to anything like that,” Darnold said. “If I do catch wind of it, I have my process on how to handle that. It’s just about handling my process and doing it my way, so that when I get out there, it’s not about what I’ve done or what I’m going to do, it’s about what I’m doing right now.
“I think if I just continue to have that mindset as we go on, we’ll be just fine.”
So there isn't anything Darnold could do, other than go 0-17, that would shift the narrative back to what it was before the Super Bowl win.
He's proven he can beat the best. He's proven he can come through in the clutch, and in the biggest game of his career, no, he wasn't perfect, but he didn't lose the game for his team.
All the questions aimed at him were answered.
Yes, he says he doesn't pay any attention to the outside noise and the narratives, but in today's world of social media, sometimes it will filter through.
But as he embarks on the 2026 season as the starting quarterback of the defending Super Bowl champs, Darnold has a clean slate ahead of him, something he hasn't had in his entire career.
There's nothing hanging over him anymore. It's just pure football.
And when players have a clear path like Darnold does, more often than not, a good season follows.
