Sam Darnold has a lot to prove replacing Geno Smith

Sam Darnold is the new sheriff in town for the Seattle Seahawks. After extension talks broke down, the Hawks traded Geno Smith away. They got younger and a little bit cheaper at the position, but they may have also downgraded in talent. This is the biggest thing facing them in 2025.

Ahead of the season, NFL insider Frank Schwab addressed all the changes and discussed the QB swap at length. This is one of the more surprising things to happen all offseason, namely because the Seahawks were a good team last year.

"Most 10-win teams don't make major changes. The Seahawks made a couple. They swapped out quarterbacks, trading away Geno Smith and then paying Sam Darnold in free agency. Smith wanted a new contract, but it's not like he got that much more from Las Vegas than Seattle paid Darnold," Schwab said.

This is why it's a bit surprising. "It's just one ranking, but Pro Football Focus ranked Geno Smith as the 10th-best quarterback in the NFL going into this season and Sam Darnold 26th," the insider noted. "That seems like way too wide of a gap, but it shows that Smith is underrated and Darnold has a lot to prove."

The biggest question is whether or not Darnold is going to turn back into a pumpkin. Was Kevin O'Connell getting better play out of a quarterback than anyone else could? That's been the case before, and the Seahawks' offensive coaching staff has no one like that.

"Poor outings in the regular-season finale and a playoff loss rekindled skepticism about what had looked like a true breakout," Schwab added. "Mike Macdonald laughably had to affirm during the offseason that his $100.5 million quarterback would be the starter in Week 1. Outside of the Seahawks' building, there isn't a lot of faith in Darnold coming into the season."

There was more faith with Smith, a veteran who'd enjoyed a rather shocking career resurgence with the Seahawks. Darnold broke out with the Minnesota Vikings, but Seattle will hope another former bust can really thrive with the Seahawks.