If the Minnesota Vikings and quarterback Sam Darnold go their separate ways this offseason as many expect, there are multiple teams around the NFL that will have interest in signing him in free agency this year.
Many have already pointed to the teams with the most cap space that also have a need at the quarterback position as logical landing spots for Darnold this offseason.
However, there is one team in the NFC West that has quietly made some recent moves to put themselves in a position to sign the Vikings passer this year.
Seattle Seahawks make a ton of sense as the team to sign Minnesota Vikings QB Sam Darnold in 2025
A little over a week ago, the Seattle Seahawks made the decision to hire Klint Kubiak as the team's new offensive coordinator. Minnesota fans are very familiar with Kubiak, as he spent multiple seasons on the team's coaching staff, including the 2021 campaign when he was the Vikings' offensive coordinator.
In addition to his time with Minnesota, however, Kubiak also spent the 2023 season as the San Francisco 49ers quarterbacks coach. Inside that 49ers quarterbacks room in 2023 was Darnold, who spent a season in San Francisco before signing with Minnesota last year. So, there is already some familiarity between the veteran signal-caller and Seattle's new offensive coordinator.
Then there's Geno Smith, the Seahawks' current starting quarterback. Smith is about to enter the final year of the $75 million extension he signed with Seattle in 2023 and he's set to have a cap hit next season of $44.5 million.
Unfortunately, Smith's numbers in the last two seasons with the Seahawks haven't been nearly as good as they were in 2022 before he landed his lucrative extension. In 2024, Seattle also missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2009, so it wouldn't be shocking if they wanted to go in a different direction at the quarterback position.
Luckily for the Seahawks, a perfect trade destination for Smith was recently created when the Las Vegas Raiders hired longtime former Seattle head coach Pete Carroll. The Raiders are in desperate need of a starting quarterback who is at least above average, and with an estimated $92.5 million in cap space, Las Vegas can easily afford to reunite Carroll with Smith this offseason.
Currently, the Seahawks are projected to begin the new league year in March more than $27 million over the 2025 salary cap. However, Seattle can quickly clear a combined $48 million in cap space this year by trading Smith and releasing veteran wide receiver Tyler Lockett.
Those two moves alone would put them right above $20 million in cap space for the offseason, and then additional roster decisions can be made in order to clear up however much the Seahawks believe they will need to make Darnold an enticing offer.
In terms of what Darnold could add to Seattle's offense, he would give them the ability to throw the ball downfield a lot more than they did with Smith under center during the last two seasons.
In both 2023 and 2024, the Seahawks ranked among the five worst teams in the NFL in intended air yards per pass attempt. With Darnold as their quarterback last season, the Vikings ranked fifth in the league in intended air yards per pass attempt.
In Minnesota, Darnold had the opportunity to work with arguably the best wide receiver duo in the NFL in Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. If the veteran quarterback signed with Seattle, he would still get to work with one of the league's most talented wide receiver duos in the league in Jaxon Smith-Njigba and DK Metcalf, and they might actually be even better suited for Darnold's ability to throw deep.
Of course, none of this will be possible until the Seahawks make a decision about Smith. On March 16th, he has a $10 million roster bonus that will kick in if he's still on the team, so one would assume Seattle will attempt to figure out what they're going to do at the quarterback position before then.