NFL analyst accuses Seahawks GM of privately contacting Sam Darnold behind Geno Smith’s back

NFL analyst Michael Holley questioned the Seattle Seahawks' official timeline of how they transitioned their quarterback from Geno Smith to Sam Darnold. He speculated that the organization might have been in negotiations with Darnold before actually moving on from Smith.

Seattle traded Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders and seemingly quickly signed Darnold to a three-year, $100.5 million contract. Holley raised his questions on the Friday edition of Pro Football Talk.

"You can't really tell the real timeline or the whole get," Holley said. "There's no way, I'm sorry, John, there's just no way that you're having conversations with Geno Smith, and then you decide the conversations aren't going well, and we've got to pivot, and all of a sudden we've got a multi year contract with Sam darnold, that's not how it happened. There's just no way."

This remark follows only days after Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald's March 13 press conference in which he said:

"once we decided to make the move with Geno, understanding who was out there, Sam became the No. 1 focus pretty quickly."

Sam Darnold's relationship with Seahawks' offensive coordinator shaped his decision

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The quick signing of Sam Darnold seems linked to his prior professional relationship with Seattle offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. When he spoke at his introductory press conference on Thursday, Darnold emphasized this relationship as a strong reason he joined the Seahawks.

"[The scheme] was definitely one of the things I factored into signing here," Darnold told reporters. "Just being able to work with Klint, having talked with Klint a ton in San Francisco about what we like and dislike. We have so much in common when it comes to football."

Kubiak, who previously coached Darnold with the 49ers in San Francisco as their passing game coordinator, said:

"Sam's extremely talented, obviously a great thrower of the football, his mobility sticks out, his toughness, his maturity," Kubiak said. "Thing about Sam that really sticks out is just he's an A-plus teammate."

Macdonald added at the press conference:

"I think Sam's best days are ahead of him, and I think you've seen that through the course of his career."

He is referencing Darnold's 2024 campaign with Minnesota, where he threw for 4,319 yards, 35 touchdowns and a mere 12 interceptions on his way to a 102.5 passer rating.