Super Bowl 60: For Sam Darnold, It’s Not About Vindication-It’s About Growth, Grit, and Getting Some Sleep
**SAN JOSE, Calif. ** - If you're looking for a Sam Darnold revenge tour, you’re going to be disappointed.
The Seahawks quarterback isn’t here for vindication. He’s here for something much simpler-and, in many ways, much harder to achieve: staying healthy, staying focused, and getting a full night’s sleep during the most important week of his football life.
Darnold was back on the practice field Wednesday at San Jose State University, leading the Seahawks through their first full-pads session in nearly two weeks. And while his left oblique-injured back on January 15 during a practice throw-still isn’t 100%, it’s getting better. The Super Bowl bye week helped, and so did the Seahawks' dominant win over the Rams in the NFC Championship, where Darnold silenced a few more doubters.
“First of all, it feels really good,” Darnold said after practice. “Definitely the time off has helped a little bit.”
That’s classic Darnold: understated, focused, and locked in on the process. He’s not chasing headlines. He’s chasing consistency-something he’s finally found in Seattle after a winding, often frustrating NFL journey.
And make no mistake, he’s still managing that oblique. Head coach Mike Macdonald confirmed that backup Drew Lock is taking first-team reps this week, just in case. But Darnold is throwing more each day, ramping up gradually as Sunday’s Super Bowl showdown with the Patriots draws closer.
“We’ll see how it goes,” Macdonald said before Wednesday’s practice. “Some days more than others, but he’s in a great spot. I know he’s really confident.”
That confidence didn’t come easy.
The Long Road to Super Bowl Sunday
For much of his career, Sam Darnold has been the guy teams moved on from. Drafted third overall by the Jets in 2018, he was supposed to be the future in New York.
Instead, he went 13-25 as a starter on a team that never gave him much to work with. Then came a two-year stint in Carolina, where he went 8-9 and again found himself on the outside looking in.
In 2023, he backed up Brock Purdy in San Francisco. Then came 2024, when he finally got a real shot in Minnesota-and made the most of it.
Darnold went 14-3, threw for 4,500 yards and 35 touchdowns, and earned his first Pro Bowl nod. But even that wasn’t enough for the Vikings, who handed the keys to rookie J.J.
McCarthy the following season. A training camp injury to McCarthy opened the door for Darnold, and he walked right through it-into a Seahawks contract and, eventually, into the biggest game of his career.
So when people ask if this Super Bowl is his moment of vindication, Darnold doesn’t bite.
“I think it doesn’t really come down to that for me,” he said. “It’s always been about putting in the hard work every single day. Sometimes that leads to this moment.”
Learning to Let Go of Perfection
Darnold’s calm demeanor and steady mindset weren’t always part of the package. Early in his career, especially in New York, he admits he was too hard on himself. One bad throw in practice could ruin his whole day.
“I feel like as a young player, too, early in my career I was really hard on myself,” he said. “Like, after a bad rep or a bad practice I would let it kind of affect my attitude.”
That changed thanks to a lesson from one of the greatest to ever play the game.
“Jerry Rice has a quote-I'm paraphrasing-but he said he never had a perfect practice or a perfect game,” Darnold said. “That’s kind of the mindset I’ve had after my first couple years in the NFL.
It’s not always going to be perfect. It’s about how you move on from mistakes to better yourself and your team.”
That shift in mentality has been huge. It’s helped him stay grounded through a season where he’s thrown for over 4,000 yards and led Seattle to 14 regular-season wins-joining Tom Brady as the only QBs in NFL history to do that in back-to-back years.
Sleep, Strategy, and Super Bowl Lessons
And then there’s the sleep. Yes, sleep.
Darnold was the backup in San Francisco during their Super Bowl run in early 2024. And while he didn’t see the field in that game, he took notes-especially about how to handle the chaos of Super Bowl week.
“These last couple days I was able to get a lot of sleep,” he said. “And I think that’s huge.
Because as you get closer to the game… your mind might start thinking about it. You’re going to bed a little later.
You’ve got to wake up earlier.”
So this time around, he’s banking rest early, knowing the adrenaline will take over soon enough.
One Step at a Time
Darnold knows the questions are going to keep coming. Can he win the big one? Can the Seahawks trust him in the moment that matters most?
But here’s the thing: he’s never had this moment before. This is his first Super Bowl start. And while the football world may still be asking if Sam Darnold is “the guy,” inside the Seahawks’ locker room, that question was answered long ago.
He’s not looking for redemption. He’s just looking to keep doing what got him here-one step, one rep, one throw at a time.
And maybe, with a little more sleep.