Seahawks QB Sam Darnold shares regret about Jets tenure after Super Bowl win

The New York Jets became punchlines of jokes this winter as quarterback Sam Darnold guided his Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl LX showdown with the New England Patriots. Predictably, such comments grew louder after Darnold got his hands on the Vince Lombardi Trophy following Seattle's 29-13 win over New England on Feb. 8.

During a promotional event on Tuesday, media members and fans were able to speak with Darnold. Justin Fried of The Jet Press asked the new Super Bowl champion if he had a message for Jets fans who had supported Darnold from the opening night of the 2018 NFL Draft through this winter. 

Sam Darnold wishes his Jets tenure had gone differently

"Thank you," Darnold responded. "That’s all you can ask for as a player, is to feel supported, especially by the team that drafted you. I always look at myself and feel like I could’ve done a lot more for that franchise when I was there. The fact that [Jets fans] are able to support me even through that means a lot." 

The Jets made Darnold the third overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft, but a general manager who didn't draft the signal-caller traded Darnold to the Carolina Panthers after the 2020 season. From there, Darnold became somewhat of a journeyman who completed stints with the Panthers and the San Francisco 49ers before he found success with the Minnesota Vikings during the 2024 campaign. However, the Vikings let him reach free agency last March after he played poorly in his final two starts of that season. 

Some wondered if Darnold would ever overcome seeing "ghosts" during a game while with the Jets, but he made it known shortly after the Seahawks won Super Bowl LX that he never lost confidence in his abilities to lead a team to a championship. Meanwhile, the Jets are responsible for the longest active postseason drought among the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA and MLS (15 years). Once again, they are spending a portion of an offseason searching for an answer at quarterback. 

Despite all that went wrong for the Jets and Darnold, pockets of Gang Green fans never gave up on him.