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As the Seattle Seahawks enter Sam Darnold’s second season as quarterback, NFL analysts still focus on his turnovers as Darnold’s biggest obstacle. Darnold’s turnover rate continues to represent a concern for people looking to rate his performance.
In 2025, the Seattle Seahawks ranked 2nd overall in total turnovers with 28 overall. 15 of those were interceptions while the other 13 were fumbles. Darnold participated in 20 of those turnovers.
Despite winning the Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks, Darnold’s biggest obstacle still is a topic of conversation. It seems no matter what he does in his career people will have their doubts about the quarterback.
With Kenneth Walker III gone and Zach Charbonnet injured, the Seahawks plan to rely on Darnold more in the passing game. However, they selected Jadarian Price with the 32nd overall pick in the NFL Draft.
Sam Darnold’s Biggest Obstacle a Constant Conversation with his Career
GettyTurnovers have been Darnold’s biggest obstacle through his entire career.
PFF tracks turnover worthy plays for quarterbacks in the NFL. Through his career, Darnold has an average turnover worthy play rate of 3.9%. For context, that would rank in the top 5 of 26 quarterbacks who took 340 drop backs last season.
However, Darnold has taken a marginal step forward only having turnovers on 3.4% of his drop backs, ranking tied for 6th. Darnold also had a turnover rate of 3.6% in his first year with the Minnesota Vikings, which was tied for 3rd. The turnovers remain an issue for Darnold, but he has lowered his turnover rate in these critical seasons.
Despite still being an issue, Darnold finds success by attempting big plays. His big time throw percentage, another PFF metric, ranked 3rd in the NFL in 2025 (5.7%) and 6th in 2024 (5.6%). Those are well above his career average of 4.4%.
While people will focus on the turnovers, Darnold ranks among the elite quarterbacks in terms of creating big plays and making critical throws. Simply, you have to take the good with the bad. Regardless, Darnold continues to improve despite the constant conversation about his biggest obstacle.
Critical Season for Contract Renewal
GettyThe Seahawks soon will have to make a decision if they want to extend Darnold’s contract.
With Darnold entering his second season with the Seahawks, conversations perhaps will begin if the team will extend his contract. Current projections sit at around $50 million per season.
Recently, Seahawks general manager John Schneider avoided paying big contracts to players like Russell Wilson and Geno Smith. The Seahawks have been fortunate to avoid doing so, helping them build a Super Bowl caliber roster. However, they may have to pay Darnold to retain their chances at contention.
The Seahawks drafted Jalen Milroe in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft, but he failed to show many flashes of success in year one. That being said, Milroe was always a developmental prospect.
Perhaps the Seahawks could give Milroe a chance when Darnold’s contract expires. Yet, Darnold should receive some grace because he helped the Seattle Seahawks win their second Super Bowl title in franchise history.
Chris Lewis is a freelance sports writer based in Gig Harbor, Washington. He focuses on NFL, MLB (with an emphasis on the Mariners), and professional golf. More about Chris Lewis