Seahawks players, Mike Macdonald praise Sam Darnold for ending redemption tour with Super Bowl win over Patriots

The Sam Darnold redemption tour that truly started when he entered the 2024 season as the Minnesota Vikings' starting quarterback and ended when he helped the Seattle Seahawks earn a 29-13 win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX on Sunday night.

Following the victory, multiple members of the Seahawks offered high praise for all that Darnold was able to accomplish in his first campaign with Seattle. 

Sam Darnold was "unwavering" amid criticisms, doubts

"Super proud of him," Seattle defensive lineman Leonard Williams said about Darnold, per ESPN's Brady Henderson. "He's had doubters his whole life. He's had a lot of ups and downs, had a tremendous journey. I think one thing about him, he's been unwavering through it all. He's never let one doubter skew his mindset, change who he is, and he's just a tremendous leader, and he brought us to the Super Bowl and won the Super Bowl."

Darnold famously saw "ghosts" while playing for the New York Jets and the Carolina Panthers from 2018-22. More recently, the Vikings let him reach free agency last March after he produced poor showings in back-to-back defeats that ended what had been a promising campaign for Minnesota. 

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Darnold's postseason journey this winter is that he completed it while dealing with a lingering and painful oblique injury that he suffered during a practice on Jan. 15.

"He's awesome," Seattle backup quarterback Drew Lock said about Darnold. "Being able to do that, take limited practice reps, still have your process throughout the week dialed in, to come out and play the way he has all throughout the playoffs, man, it says a lot about how good of a football player that guy is."

On Jan. 25, Darnold passed for 346 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions in the Seahawks' 31-27 NFC Championship Game win over the Los Angeles Rams. Versus the Patriots, he went 19-of-38 for 202 yards and one touchdown while serving as a game manager for a team that featured a dominant defense throughout the evening. 

Sam Darnold "does not care" what has been said, written about him

Even this past fall, Darnold looked like a quarterback who could collapse under pressure when he threw a season-worst four interceptions in Seattle's Week 11 loss to the Rams. Head coach Mike Macdonald and others associated with the Seahawks never lost faith in Darnold despite that outing, and he rewarded the club by being the offensive CEO it needed over three playoff wins. 

"They have tried to put a story and a label on who he is as a person and who he is as a quarterback," Macdonald said. "He does not care. He's the same guy every day since he showed up. He's so steadfast. He's a great teammate. His teammates love him. All he's done since he walked in the door is just been a tremendous player on our football team and a tremendous leader who is the same guy every day, and that's who he is, and that's how we need to talk about him moving forward."

It remains to be seen how good Darnold, 28, can get with a Seahawks side that will be losing offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. Darnold may never become an MVP finalist, but he'll always be known as a Super Bowl champion after Sunday night.