Quote:
Originally Posted by Galakanokis
I might just be remembering those last two games. Obviously really. Or the team as a whole down the stretch wasn't good. I hate the Vikings so don't pay too much attention to them.
True, the structure of the contract is team friendly but it still feels odd to make the moves they made and then sign a QB to big time money. It is not like Darnold is a proven commodity. They are not contenders so they are paying this money for what? I would have taken Fields on that deal over this.
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It's
not big time money, though. It's essentially one of two things. Either last year was a total anomaly and Darnold is actually bad, in which case the Seahawks are essentially rebuilding anyway and this deal doesn't hurt them in undertaking that rebuilding process. Or the last 3 years are a positive upward trend for Darnold, and he's gotten to a point where he's now an average-to-above-average starting QB. In which case $33M for that, given the current QB market and where it's going, is a steal, and the Seahawks are just re-tooling as more of a defense-first team with a run-focused offense to match their head coach's priorities.
There just isn't a ton of risk to doing this, as far as I can see. If they'd kept Geno, their ceiling is probably 11 wins or so for the next two seasons, and maybe 1-3 total wins in the playoffs. Their ceiling here is probably roughly similar, maybe slightly higher for slightly longer if they make the right bets on O line. The floor is lower, because if Darnold returns to his Jets self they are probably a 5 win team or whatever, but if that happens at least you've essentially forced yourself to commit to a couple years of rebuilding so there's some certainty at least.
Fields would be an OK bet along the same lines, it's just that Darnold has shown that at least in the right situation he can play well over the course of a full season, where Fields hasn't proved that. So basically I think they're paying more for a higher likelihood that it works out. But I wouldn't have been mad at them making a higher risk bet on Fields.