What’s Next for Seahawks Following Massive Sam Darnold Signing

The Seattle Seahawks pulled off one of the biggest, if not the biggest, free agency signings of the 2025 offseason. The team landed former Minnesota Vikings star quarterback Sam Darnold on a three-year, $100.5 million deal.

Smith was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders, leading the Seahawks to have a glaring hole at quarterback. There were rumors that Seattle was targeting one of the biggest free-agent signal callers. and that proved to be true by their signing of Darnold. 

With Darnold now behind center, the Seahawks have to make some big moves to ensure that their new quarterback is going to be successful moving forward. 

Find New Wide Receivers

One of the biggest question marks that the Seahawks now have is what they plan to do at wide receiver. Days before the Darnold signing, the team chose to release 10-year veteran Tyler Lockett.

Even worse is the Seahawks also granted DK Metcalf the chance to be traded, and the Pittsburgh Steelers took full advantage of that by seconding a second-round pick in exchange for the star receiver.

Now, the Seahawks are going to have to find Darnold some quality receivers, as they currently only have Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Dareke Young, and Jake Bobo as starters.

There are plenty of receivers to choose from in terms of recent releases the Seahawks are essentially going to have to rebuild their pass-catching corps through free agency and the draft.

Rebuild Offensive Line

Smith was the third-most sacked quarterback in 2024, taking 50 sacks from opposing defenses. This number will need to drastically improve if Darnold is going to have a chance to plant his feet and launch the ball.

Darnold has a fantastic arm, but he is not to get to exercise that arm if he is under constant duress from linebackers and edge rushers on opposing teams. The Seahawks will need to invest heavily in their offensive line rebuilding heading into the draft.

One of the biggest drawbacks the Seahawks have had in recent years is their ability to protect Smith. With Darnold coming in, Seattle must invest heavily in their line.

Reestablish Run Game

The Seahawks rebuilding the offensive line is something that will help to protect Darnold, but it will also help to restart the run game. The backs failed to surpass 600 rushing yards in 2024, with Kenneth Walker III landing 573 yards and Zach Charbonnet landing 569 yards.

Walker was injured and missed five games, and Charbonnet game through in fine style. However, both backs need to boost their output to also establish the passing game being dangerous as well.

The Seahawks might need to find a new back to help kickstart things in free agency, or they need to find a young upstart via the draft. Either way, the run game has been a pain point for the team for the past few seasons.