This is a guest article by Curtis Allen…
Currently Seattle is in an enviable spot at the most important position on the football field.
Sam Darnold is the starter, a Super Bowl champion coming off a smashing success of a playoff run. The questions about his performance in critical games have been answered.
And now, the Seahawks sit in an advantageous spot: Paying a Super Bowl-winning Quarterback one of the lowest rates in the league for a veteran starter with two seasons still left on his contract.
Drew Lock is a capable if unspectacular backup and Jalen Milroe is the toolsy project.
That is impressive stability at the position. However, between injuries, player performance, short contracts, and market volatility, stability can be lost quickly, and the entire team’s roster and salary cap can be affected.
Much work needs to be done behind the scenes. When critical decisions need to be made or opportunities are presented, unprepared teams can get caught napping and could cost themselves dearly.
John Schneider is no stranger to this exercise. Last year, he and the team literally pivoted from Geno Smith on Friday to Darnold on Monday and it paid off handsomely.
Being able to make a change at the very top of the roster so seamlessly does not happen without an enormous amount of preparation.
There is also another factor in the equation this year: The team is expected to be sold this fall. The new ownership might bring all new standards of how they operate financially and those kinds of principles take time to implement, given the timeline of running a billion-dollar business and the new contracts the Seahawks have committed to this summer. Schneider will need to operate the franchise while adapting to new mandates. Assuring the future of the roster while dealing with those unknowns demands exploring all available possibilities.
Therefore, not doing your due diligence is negligent. Scenarios that we fans would class as “that would never happen” must at least be brainstormed and response strategies need to be devised and ready to implement with precision. This is how Schneider and the Seahawks stay ahead of the curve at the position. Thinking outside the box needs to be the rule, not the exception.
What issues are Schneider and the rest of the Front Office preparing for this season?
2027 is Another Key Offseason
Next year, Sam Darnold enters the last year of his contract, Drew Lock is a Free Agent, Jalen Milroe will be entering his third NFL season, and the Quarterback class in the draft from this distance appears to be a deep one.
There will be plenty of prep work to do.
We talked about the importance of this season for Jalen Milroe in detail here and here.
With backups and developmental Quarterbacks, there is much that goes on behind the scenes that we do not see. Performance in front of fans in camp and in the preseason are important but not the entire picture that teams use to evaluate their players.
Therefore, we need to be prepared for all eventualities.
There are arguments for patience (Milroe is a tremendous physical talent, and if he can help the team with some gadget plays this fall that provides value) and against patience (Current roster depth at other spots makes 3 QBs an unaffordable luxury, and there is a potentially deep Quarterback class in 2027 where the Seahawks own more than enough picks to take a shot at another one).
As we have pointed out, Milroe can make all these discussions moot with a major step forward.
However, Schneider will not sit and wait to find out. The Seahawks will be busy thoroughly scouting college passers this fall.
Keeping an open mind about the future, one idea the Seahawks will consider is perhaps trading up in the draft if there is a Quarterback they like. If this is indeed a deep class, there may be someone within an acceptable range available. An argument could be made that twelve draft picks may be too many picks to make this deep and talented roster. There could be a ‘kill two birds with one stone’ moment where they move two or three picks to go up and get a passer they consider worthy – particularly if the goal is to continually invest in the position. Much work will need to be done to determine if there is someone of that value come draft day.
And it may not be simply to replace Milroe’s spot. There are multiple applications available if they decide to invest in the draft.
Up to and including who the starting Quarterback is in 2027.
Sam Darnold and the Veteran Market
First let me say this: I think Darnold and the Seahawks have found something that works well for all parties. Not only is he an effective player, but he is also a stabilizing influence. A mere two weeks into the season, his teammates were praising him for his leadership and effectiveness in keeping them on an even keel during games. That is something they lacked in their last starter.
And Week Eleven may have been the turning point of the whole season. An ugly Darnold game resulted in a close loss for the Seahawks and put a division title in question. Yet after the Super Bowl win, Darnold pointed to the game as the moment he knew the team was for real. To make that many mistakes and lose by a hair was convincing evidence.
And if you did not agree with that, Ernest Jones has a message for you. What is easily the Seahawks’ ‘player soundbite of the year’ is a teammate vehemently defending Darnold after a tough loss.
His chemistry and performance with the team (along with his price point) make him a great fit. All signs point to a fruitful partnership well beyond the term of his current contract.
But there’s that darn market. It will not stop finding ways to present challenges to building a winning franchise.
Coming off a Super Bowl win, Darnold is near the bottom of the pay scale. Among established veteran starters only Baker Mayfield (Free Agent in 2027), Aaron Rodgers (43 years old) and Kirk Cousins (38 and a placeholder for Fernando Mendoza) make less than him.
That is both a testament to the Seahawks’ shrewdness and vision and the insanity that is the market for Quarterbacks.
This offseason, Daniel Jones got a huge 33% raise over Darnold’s deal – including $54.5 million in first-year cash – after washing out in New York, then playing only thirteen games with the Colts. He is coming off a torn Achilles and may not be able to start Week One. (Jones owes his agent a whole case of rare scotch for playing Indy like a fiddle).
The latest is example is Kansas City tacking two years onto Patrick Mahomes’ mega-contract. He is tied to the Chiefs through 2033 and now stands atop the NFL salary structure with a $63-64 million per year average.
This might be hard to grasp but it is a smart move by the Chiefs. No doubt the market will keep rising dramatically, with Lamar Jackson likely the next candidate for the new top contract. He might eclipse $70 million.
Mayfield will only be 31 years old next spring. Matthew Stafford’s current 2027 contract is a dummy placeholder – with another MVP-type season and he can ask for whatever he wants. Ty Simpson can keep waiting.
Jalen Hurts has two years left on his contract, but the Eagles are extremely good at extending their core players early and might work something out this winter.
And then you have the players on rookie contracts who will be eligible for extensions: C.J. Stroud, Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix.
You are welcome to argue that Darnold is above or below any of these players in a ranking of Quarterbacks. But one thing is certain: They will all eclipse his current contract value soon.
I am not building a case for the Seahawks to trade Darnold next year or let him play out his deal and walk in 2028. Just looking at the landscape in which the Seahawks are operating in.
What kind of contract will work for Darnold and the Seahawks? That will be addressed in an upcoming piece. I do think one that works for both parties is viable.
But I do not speak for both parties.
For John Schneider, this season will be about establishing what Darnold’s value is and setting in place some parameters for what will work for the team. That includes term of the contract, the cash payment schedule and allows them enough room to continue fielding a competitive roster.
For Darnold and his representatives, it will be about reaching an understanding of what he really wants. If he has a fantastic season and leads the Seahawks to another championship, theoretically he can name his price for his next contract. He may not get it from Seattle, but somebody would gladly pay it.
But is that his heart’s desire? Or would he rather stay with a drama-free organization with a proven track record of incredible success and settle for less than top-market wages?
The latter seems much more likely.
However, the Seahawks need to get to work to cover all their bases this season. Assuming a Darnold extension will be easy work is a fool’s errand.
With that in mind, they will be looking at both the draft and the potentially available veteran options this fall.
Mayfield will likely be extended or Franchise Tagged by the Bucs. But what if he is not? He could snap right into place as the heir to Darnold. He has a very similar story to Darnold, a high draft pick that has taken his lumps but risen above them to find success with a well-run franchise. His performance in defeating the Seahawks in Week 5 is a great example of what he brings to his team. The scrappy toughness he has in the pocket when plays break down is like Darnold’s, and he is not afraid to air the ball out and take his shots.
Cousins will be available next year, barring some kind of radical reworking of his contract. He is nobody’s idea of a top Quarterback at this stage, but he knows the Kubiak/Shanahan system and paired with a top defense and a successful running game, could be an effective stopgap.
Mac Jones might be an interesting option. He performed very well in Brock Purdy’s place last year and kept San Francisco afloat. He obviously is familiar with the offense and presumably has a relationship with Brian Fleury.
And then you have talented but flawed projects like Will Levis and Anthony Richardson. Would a breath of fresh air inject some life into their careers and help them return to a place where they are in the discussion to be a long-term starter? Or would the Seahawks just be duplicating skillsets they already have with Levis (Drew Lock) and Richardson (Jalen Milroe) and just be better off bringing back players they have history with?
And assessment needs to be made.
The options I mentioned might evaporate. New ones might emerge. Scouting the draft class might reveal several avenues the team could take.
A best-case scenario involves extending Darnold at a team-friendly rate and Jalen Milroe solidly taking the backup job from Drew Lock and providing occasional boosts to the offense.
And given how easily the Seahawks have made the transition from Pete Carroll to John Schneider as the Director of Football Operations, it would be easy to think that is the route the team will take.
But it will not be easy. Great players make spectacular plays look easy, and that is what Schneider and the Seahawks have done in building a Super Bowl winner. Made it look easy.
The truth is, there is a ton of work to do behind the scenes to lay the groundwork for these decisions. And one thing we can have confidence in: John Schneider is not afraid of hard work or tough decisions.
