Super Bowl-winning Sam Darnold was once a struggling player. He’s been on the rosters of multiple teams before lifting the Lombardi with the Seattle Seahawks. Had the New York Jets given him the help he needed, Darnold might have taken the team to the same level and stayed, according to franchise hero Keyshawn Johnson.
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“I told the New York Jets, I told them, literally, ‘Trade the pick, don’t draft Zach Wilson, bring in a new f—ing coach that knows what he’s doing and not Adam Gase,” Keyshawn Johnson said on All The Smoke. “Get some players, put them around him, get him a JSN!
“Think about that. And they gave up on him. … He finally gets his s–t together when he goes to Minnesota, because they had pieces in play. What if he’d have had [Justin] Jefferson and Addison and all them in New York? We wouldn’t even be talking about Sam Darnold in Seattle.”
Darnold, in his three years with the Jets, threw for more than 2,000 yards in each season. But he only went 13-25 as a starter. The Jets ended up firing then-head coach Adam Gase, trading Darnold to the Panthers for draft picks, and drafting Zach Wilson.
Wilson also had a tough time with the Jets. Drafted second overall in 2021, the quarterback also lasted three years at New York, finishing his stint with a disappointing 12-21 record.
Darnold never really had solid help in the Jets offense. In 2019, injuries caused the team to use 11 different offensive linemen. He was also sacked 33 times that season. In his three years with at New York, no receiver was able to meet the 1,000-yard mark. The closest anyone had gone was Jamison Crowder with 833 in 2019.
The quarterback also had personal issues. He was dealing with mononucleosis in his second season and an injured shoulder in the third. They had also caused some severe regression for Darnold. However, it had become evident that the Jets and the QB were never meant to be.
“That was no place for a quarterback to grow,” an AFC scout told FOX News’ Ralph Vacchiano. “I honestly thought they had ruined him for good. But it was pretty clear he had to get out.”
Darnold struggled in Carolina and San Francisco, too. But in Minnesota, he had a system that he thrived in. Head coach Kevin O’Connell’s offense worked wonders for the quarterback, who went from throwing for 2,000 yards in a season to 4,000.
And in Seattle, with Njigba, Darnold crossed the 4,000-yard mark for the second time in his career. He also had rushing help from Kenneth Walker III, who rushed for 1,027 yards in the regular season. Darnold had more protection, made fewer mistakes, and played much more efficiently in Seattle. Today, he wishes he could have done it in New York.
“I think the dream as a player is like, you want to stay with the same franchise for your whole career,” he said on Bussin’ With The Boys. “… Like, even if we were trash in New York, I wanted to go and make it right. Like I wanted to go, you know, win Super Bowls in New York with the Jets. Obviously, that didn’t happen. It wasn’t in the stars for me, but like, that’s what I wanted, that was the dream.”