Darnold is the leading voice for the quarterbacks reviving their career narrative in the NFL
Over the past five or so years, we have seen quarterbacks who were on the NFL scrap heap revive their careers with other teams, and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold is the best example of that.
We have seen Baker Mayfield go from the depths of despair with the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers to having a new lease on life with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Geno Smith had a similar uptick in form with Seattle, and Darnold, who had a 14-3 season with the Minnesota Vikings in 2024, repeated that in 2025, and is now on the doorstep of a Super Bowl win.
So it shows that just because a quarterback struggles in the early stages of their career, it doesn't mean they are "busts"; it just means they need time to develop.
Darnold, now the main character in this latest quarterback revival narrative, offered an interesting thought on how it paved the way for him to get where he is now.
"I think you see examples of that all around the league and in the past, just guys maybe not having as much success as they feel like they should have had or maybe the media thinks that they should have had right out of college,” Darnold said. “But I think that the biggest thing is to just believe in yourself, that's really what it comes down to.
"I've always believed in myself, and I've always had confidence in myself to do my job. I learned a ton from the mistakes that I made early on in my career, and I feel like that kind of mindset has kind of gotten me to this point.”
So there you have it. It is all a mental game, at least for Sam.
Belief in yourself as a player can sometimes be all you need.
Granted, multiple teams cutting you and then serving as a backup as a first-round pick is a humbling experience, but it isn't the end of the road. It's a mere stop on your NFL journey.
Darnold has had an up-and-down career, as one could have, yet he's stayed true to his belief in himself to the point where he is now four quarters away from being a Super Bowl champion.
The mental game, folks, plays a huge role for athletes, and in Darnold's case, played an even bigger one in getting him to be the player he is today.