Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold doesn't care about narratives. He's never been one to pay attention to them.
"It's not about what I've done or what I'm going to do, it's about what I'm doing right now," he said. "I think if I just continue to have that mindset as we go on, we'll be just fine."
Last season, Darnold was, like the rest of the offense operating under a new offensive coordinator but together, they were still able to achieve a whole lot of success in just one year. The season came with highs like his turnover-free playoff run and some lows like his four-interceptions in a loss against the Los Angeles Rams – a game that many Seahawks players point to as a turning point in the season, following teammate Ernest Jones IV’s strong words and support for Darnold following the game.
But through it all, Darnold was one of Seattle's steady leaders and remains that figure ahead of Wednesday's season opener against the New England Patriots.
Yes, Darnold is the quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks, so that certainly means his teammates will look to him as a leader. But it's not just the fact that he is the quarterback. Darnold has a command, confidence and an ownership over the offense that shows up in his preparation, his questions and his focus.
"Sam's (Darnold) elite man," veteran Jarran Reed said. "He's at the top of his game right now. One of the best, if not the best quarterback in the league in my opinion. I love my quarterback man. The way he keeps his head down, he attacks every day. He doesn't say much. Shoutout 'Ginger Cuz'. Sam is a great guy. Another guy who's been through something, who's had a lot of obstacles to overcome during his career and to see where he's at now."
The obstacles in his career have come with narratives that have followed Darnold and after playing one of the best seasons of his career, the narrative, at least around the Virginia Mason Athletic Center is that Darnold was good last year, and he's expected to be just as good this year.
"I think the level of play is further along than it was at this point last season," general manager/president of football operations John Schneider said.
Leonard Williams who has to practice against Darnold in every day said he hasn't seen anything different out of Darnold this year.
"I say that in a good way," Williams said. "Sam's (Darnold) been the same guy since he's come in the building, and he's the type of guy who's just working. He's the first one in, last one out. He's a great leader and always watching film. When we're on the plane and we have time to mess around, goof around, and hang out with each other, he's sitting there studying film and trying to work on his game. That's something I love about Sam (Darnold) is you're going to get the same person with him no matter what day it is, no matter if we just came off a win or a loss. Regardless of what is going on outside of football for him, he's going to show up as the same guy every day."
Receiver Rashid Shaheed, who joined Seattle halfway through the 2025 season didn't have a lot of time to get acclimated to his new quarterback, but after some one-on-one offseason work in California and a full offseason, the two are more connected. Shaheed said Darnold holds everyone to a high standard.
"It just makes us want to feed off that energy," he said. "He's making great decisions, he's being decisive, and that's all we can ask from him. He's being our leader and our captain, and that's what he's been."
Along with building a better connection with Shaheed, Darnold has also been growing the relationship with offensive coordinator Brian Fleury.
"Sam's (Darnold) also been active in what we're doing and how and that relationship with (Brian) Fleury and Jake (Peetz) of building something that he has a lot of confidence in," head coach Mike Macdonald said. "You can see that in how he's playing every day. A lot of consistency. Call it assertive, it's hard to say it's more confidence. Just like going into last year, we're discovering each other and what we like and what we didn't. Having an understanding about what his wheelhouse was going into the whole process, I think that helped."
Fleury who was familiar with Darnold from the crossover at the San Francisco 49ers in 2023, said he could immediately tell that Darnold had a command over the offense.
"His growth over the last three years since I've been with him and his confidence level has increased significantly and his ownership of the offense and his command over the room and the group has been impressive," Fleury said.
In August, Fleury said "One of the first impressions that I had when I got into the building is how much ownership [Sam Darnold] has over the entire thing and wanted to know exactly what everybody's responsibilities were and how we were going to teach certain things… He executes at a high level."
And for Darnold to keep operating at a high level, he of course, will have aspects of his game that he hopes to grow.
"I think I can always get better," he said. "There were a lot of things for me like moving on in my progressions and working from one field to the to the other. I felt like I was throwing behind some targets, especially if I was going left to right. There were a couple throws in the Super Bowl that I'd like to have back, and then not only during the Super Bowl, but before that as well, where I just missed some guys going through my progressions. So, I think just being calm with my feet and making sure my feet don't get super wide. A lot of guys like to keep their base wide, but my base has always been wide, and sometimes I get too wide. So, just making sure that I keep my base with the hip width apart, is going to make me a little bit more accurate. Just working on little things like that and always working on the deep ball every offseason as well."
Check out photos of the Seahawks 53-man roster for the 2026 season.
This is a 2026 photo of DeMarcus Lawrence of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks linebacker DeMarcus Lawrence (0)
This is a 2026 photo of Julian Neal of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks cornerback Julian Neal (1)
This is a 2026 photo of Drew Lock of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks quarterback Drew Lock (2)
This is a 2026 photo of Nick Emmanwori of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori (3)
This is a 2026 photo of Michael Dickson of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks punter Michael Dickson (4)
This is a 2026 photo of Jason Myers of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks kicker Jason Myers (5)
This is a 2026 photo of Jalen Milroe of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks quarterback Jalen Milroe (6)
This is a 2025 photo of Uchenna Nwosu of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the Seattle Seahawks active roster as of June 9, 2025 when this image was taken. (AP Photo)
Seahawks linebacker Uchenna Nwosu (7)
This is a 2026 photo of Jadarian Price of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks running back Jadarian Price (8)
This is a 2026 photo of Cooper Kupp of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp (10)
This is a 2026 photo of Jaxon Smith-Njigba of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11)
This is a 2026 photo of Ernest Jones IV of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13)
This is a 2026 photo of Sam Darnold of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14)
This is a 2026 photo of Tory Horton of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks wide receiver Tory Horton (15)
This is a 2026 photo of Elijah Arroyo of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks tight end Elijah Arroyo (18)
This is a 2026 photo of Julian Love of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks safety Julian Love (20)
This is a 2026 photo of Devon Witherspoon of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon (21)
This is a 2026 photo of Rashid Shaheed of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks wide receiver Rashid Shaheed (22)
This is a 2026 photo of Emanuel Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks running back Emanuel Wilson (23)
Seahawks cornerback Avery Smith (27).
Los Angeles Chargers cornerback Avery Smith (36) runs during an NFL preseason football game against the San Francisco 49ers in Inglewood, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
This is a 2026 photo of Nehemiah Pritchett of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett (28)
This is a 2026 photo of Josh Jobe of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks cornerback Josh Jobe (29)
This is a 2026 photo of Drake Thomas of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks linebacker Drake Thomas (32)
This is a 2026 photo of George Holani of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks running back George Holani (36)
This is a 2026 photo of Brady Russell of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks fullback Brady Russell (38)
This is a 2026 photo of Ty Okada of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks safety Ty Okada (39)
This is a 2026 photo of Chris Stoll of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks long snapper Chris Stoll (41)
This is a 2026 photo of Chazz Surratt of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks linebacker Chazz Surratt (44)
This is a 2026 photo of Tyrice Knight of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks linebacker Tyrice Knight (48)
This is a 2026 photo of Patrick OíConnell of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks linebacker Patrick O'Connell (52)
This is a 2026 photo of Olu Oluwatimi of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks center Olu Oluwatimi (55)
This is a 2026 photo of Dante Fowler of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks linebacker Dante Fowler Jr. (56)
This is a 2026 photo of Connor OíToole of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks linebacker Connor O'Toole (57)
This is a 2026 photo of Derick Hall of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks linebacker Derick Hall (58)
This is a 2026 photo of Jalen Sundell of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks center Jalen Sundell (61)
This is a 2026 photo of Christian Haynes of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks guard Christian Haynes (64)
This is a 2026 photo of Charles Cross of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks tackle Charles Cross (67)
This is a 2026 photo of Beau Stephens of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks guard Beau Stephens (70)
This is a 2026 photo of Abraham Lucas of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks tackle Abraham Lucas (72)
This is a 2026 photo of Josh Jones of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks tackle Josh Jones (74)
This is a 2026 photo of Anthony Bradford of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks guard Anthony Bradford (75)
This is a 2026 photo of Grey Zabel of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks guard Grey Zabel (76)
This is a 2026 photo of Bryce Cabeldue of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks guard Bryce Cabeldue (77)
This is a 2026 photo of Eric Saubert of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks tight end Eric Saubert (81)
This is a 2026 photo of Montorie Foster of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks wide receiver Montorie Foster Jr. (87)
This is a 2026 photo of A.J. Barner of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks tight end AJ Barner (88)
This is a 2026 photo of Nick Kallerup of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks tight end Nick Kallerup (89)
This is a 2024 photo of Jarran Reed of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the Seahawks active roster as of June 10, 2024 when this image was taken. (AP Photo)
Seahawks nose tackle Jarran Reed (90)
This is a 2026 photo of Byron Murphy II of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks defensive tackle Byron Murphy II (91)
This is a 2026 photo of Mike Morris of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks defensive end Mike Morris (94)
This is a 2026 photo of Brandon Pili of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks nose tackle Brandon Pili (95)
This is a 2026 photo of Rylie Mills of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the roster as of June 8, 2026. (AP Photo)
Seahawks defensive tackle Rylie Mills (98)
This is a 2024 photo of Leonard Williams of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the Seahawks active roster as of June 10, 2024 when this image was taken. (AP Photo)
Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams (99)
