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Analysis
The Seahawks Won’t Extend Sam Darnold This Year. That’s the Whole Point.
Sam Darnold won a Super Bowl, posted a Pro Bowl season, and is currently making $33.5 million a year in a quarterback market where Daniel Jones just got $44 million from the Colts. He is, by any reasonable measure, underpaid. And the Seahawks are completely fine with that for now.
$33.5M
Darnold’s current AAV. Daniel Jones just got $44M/yr from the Colts. The gap is going to cost someone.
ESPN’s Brady Henderson confirmed what Schneider already telegraphed at the combine: no extension this offseason. Henderson’s reasoning is simple: the Seahawks do not renegotiate contracts with more than one year remaining. Full stop. Schneider’s only answer when asked was four words: “Sam signed a three-year deal.”
This is the same policy that pushed Russell Wilson out the door in 2022 and prompted the Geno Smith trade in 2024. Darnold’s camp knows the rules. The $33.5 million average that ranks 15th among quarterbacks will hold through 2026, and Darnold will earn over $30 million in total compensation this season. Nobody is passing a collection plate.
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Schneider’s only answer when asked was four words: Sam signed a three-year deal.
The math gets interesting in 2027. Gregg Bell of the Tacoma News Tribune projected Darnold’s next deal at $50 million-plus annually, using the Jones contract as a baseline. That’s a staggering number for a quarterback who had two suitors as a free agent 14 months ago. But that’s what winning a ring does to your leverage.
Schneider’s play is obvious: lock up JSN and Witherspoon now, let Darnold’s contract mature, and deal with the quarterback money next March. It’s cold, it’s calculated, and it’s worked twice. I just hope Sam doesn’t check the Colts’ box score too often in the meantime.
SOURCES →
Draft
Three Weeks Out: The Edge Rush Draft Math Is Getting Louder
Keep Reading ↓
20
Days until the Seahawks are on the clock in Pittsburgh. Four picks. Infinite needs.
Staton flagged two Day 2 edge names worth watching: Malachi Lawrence and Cashius Howell, both of whom profile as speed rushers who could win early and complement what DeMarcus Lawrence and Derick Hall do against the run. SI on Seahawks’ seven-round mock had Keldric Faulk at 32, calling him a raw pass rusher who could learn behind D-Law.
Meanwhile, the pre-draft visitor tracker keeps filling up with defensive backs. Three confirmed DB visits so far. The Seahawks have 30 formal visits and four picks, which means every meeting is a signal. Cornerback or edge at 32 remains the central question, and the answer probably depends on which players fall.
SOURCES →
AROUND THE COOP
Around the Coop
Former Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright was promoted to 49ers linebackers coach. Robert Saleh called him “off limits” for poaching and said he’ll be a coordinator “really quick.” Spiderman coaching behind enemy lines. We hate it, but we respect it. Heavy
Field Gulls is hosting a live NFL Draft Q&A with Doug Farrar today at noon ET. If you’ve been arguing with strangers about whether the Seahawks should take a corner or an edge at 32, this is your chance to argue with a professional instead. Field Gulls
The NFL’s referee CBA expires May 31, and the league is already recruiting roughly 150 college-level replacement officials. Training starts May 1. One league source told ESPN it would take “an act of God” to bridge the economic gap. Seattle fans know exactly what comes next. ESPN
NFC WEST SCHADENFREUDE REPORT
RAMS
Puka Nacua checked into a Malibu rehab facility in early March for “personal growth,” per his attorney. This comes amid a civil lawsuit alleging he bit a woman on New Year’s Eve and made antisemitic remarks. The restraining order was withdrawn, but the lawsuit proceeds with an April 14 hearing. His attorney says he’ll be back for OTAs. The Rams’ “big-time priority” extension just acquired a few more complications than projected cap math. Somewhere in Renton, John Schneider’s timing on the JSN deal looks more brilliant by the hour.
NINERS
The 49ers still haven’t resolved the Trent Williams standoff. Lynch says they’re “on the precipice” of a deal. He said the same thing a month ago. Williams’ cap hit sits at $46.3 million with zero guaranteed dollars. Meanwhile, the Brandon Aiyuk saga has entered a new phase: the 49ers won’t release him because they’d rather make a team trade a draft pick than hand him over for free. The option bonus isn’t due until September. An offseason of hostage negotiations dressed up as cap management.
CARDINALS
PFF named Marvin Harrison Jr. Arizona’s most valuable trade asset. Not because he’s bad, but because he has “a ton of value around the league” and the roster might warrant cashing in before it declines. The Cardinals insist they’re keeping him, but GM Ossenfort is reportedly “more open to having a conversation” than he was at the combine. MHJ caught 103 passes for 1,493 yards and 12 touchdowns over two seasons under two different coaching staffs and zero functional quarterbacks. At some point, “just wait for the right scheme” starts sounding like “just wait for Godot.”
SEACHICKENS TRIVIA
The Seahawks’ home stadium has had four different names since it opened in 2002. It was originally called Seahawks Stadium, then became Qwest Field in 2004, CenturyLink Field in 2011, and finally received its current name in November 2020. What event prompted the 2011 name change from Qwest Field to CenturyLink Field?
Tap to Reveal the Answer
CenturyLink’s acquisition of Qwest Communications. The merger was completed in 2011, and the naming rights transferred to the new parent company, resulting in the stadium being renamed CenturyLink Field on June 23, 2011.
THIS DAY IN SEAHAWKS HISTORY
2012
April 3, 2012
Nike Unveils New Seahawks Uniforms — the Look That Launched a Dynasty
On this date in 2012, Nike replaced Reebok as the NFL’s official uniform supplier and unveiled new designs for all 32 teams at a fashion show in Brooklyn. The Seahawks were the only team to receive a complete overhaul: deeper navy blue, neon green highlights, wolf grey alternates, and Pacific Northwest coastal Native American artwork woven throughout. Kam Chancellor modeled the new threads. Saints running back Pierre Thomas called them ‘the hottest uniform right now.’ Two seasons later, the Seahawks won Super Bowl XLVIII wearing those jerseys.
Got a question for The Rooster?
Draft strategy, contract math, emotional support for your thinning edge rusher room. Drop your question and your best fake name and we’ll get to it.
Twenty days to Pittsburgh. Darnold's checking his voicemail. Schneider's not calling. The policy holds. Go Hawks. — The Rooster