As quarterback Sam Darnold buckles up for a Super Bowl appearance, his decade-old message to a former teammate has resurfaced. Ex-QB Max Browne recounted the experience of losing the starting role to Darnold on the USC Trojans football team. While the move nearly crushed him, a hopeful message from the Seattle Seahawks signal-caller remained with him all these years. 

“Appreciate the way you’ve handled this,” Darnold told Browne back in 2016 while addressing the latter’s benching via ESPN’s Instagram post. “Just know that I think you got screwed, too.” 

During a recent interview with The Athletic, analyst and former quarterback Max Browne weighed in on his 2016 season with the USC Trojans. He revealed that coach Clay Helton benched him after only three games, allowing Darnold to replace him. At the time, Browne was in his fourth year of the program and earned the starting role after a long competition with Seattle’s QB.

Browne recalled how Darnold proved his mettle in the next few games. Still, their bond was tight, sharing the same friend group that often gathered at Browne’s condo for after-game parties. During one such night, Darnold pulled him aside to share his thoughts on the situation as he hugged him. 

“I still appreciate that comment,” he explained. “It came at the lowest point of my life. I had arrived at USC with huge expectations…So when I lost the job, I was devastated. A lot of people around me didn’t know what to say, so they wouldn’t say anything. The fact that the guy who did acknowledge my situation was the very guy living out the other path really cut through.”

Before losing the job, Browne had thrown for 474 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in three games. Meanwhile, Darnold never looked back and finished the season with a completion rate of 67.2% for 3,086 yards and 31 touchdowns. Later, Browne transferred to the Pittsburgh Panthers the following year. Looking back, he said the intense “Mamba mentality” never suited him and wished he had enjoyed the game more.

Max then revealed how Sam Darnold viewed it.

“He stayed light and kept perspective,” he said. “That mindset didn’t just help him survive the challenging times — it propelled him to the Super Bowl.”

Sam Darnold witnesses career resurgence

On February 8, Sam Darnold will step onto the field for the biggest night of his career. He’ll get a chance to finish one of the most dramatic turnarounds the NFL has seen in years. The matchup against the New England Patriots could lead to a full-circle moment, especially after how his career once dipped against that same franchise. 

In 2019, Darnold witnessed one of the most brutal nights of his career while suiting up for the New York Jets. The Patriots rattled him completely, limiting his play to just 86 passing yards while intercepting his passes four times. He couldn’t even score a single touchdown, and that feeling of disappointment and horror stayed with him long after the final whistle. 

“I’m seeing ghosts,” Darnold famously said after the team’s 33-0 blowout loss.

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Those struggles only grew worse during a miserable 2020 season after the QB went 2-10. The Jets eventually shipped him to the Carolina Panthers. Darnold bounced between teams before finally breaking through with the Minnesota Vikings. He filled in for injured rookie JJ McCarthy and delivered the best season of his career.

With 4,319 yards, 35 touchdowns, and twelve interceptions, he led the team to a 14–3 record and even earned a Pro Bowl selection. When the team didn’t retain him, the Seahawks rewarded him with a $100.5 million contract. Darnold performed up to expectations and crossed the 4000-mark in passing. After the NFC Championship win against the Los Angeles Rams, he addressed his old remark.

“Yeah, I almost forgot about that. So thanks,” Darnold joked. “There was a lot that I didn’t know back then, so I’m just going to continue to learn and grow in this great game.”

No matter the Super Bowl result, his journey from punchline to Super Bowl starting quarterback is one for the books.