Viewed as Trash, Now as Treasure Troves
Summary: Three quarterbacks who came back from the grave and are carrying their squads towards an unlikely playoff push. BUILD THE STATUES ALREADY!!!
Sam Darnold (QB) Minnesota Vikings:
When Sam Darnold entered the league back in 2018 he was a polarizing player set to lead the Jets back to the promised land. It had been 7 years since their back to back AFC Championship appearances and a fresh start was needed for an organization that fell off a cliff alongside Mark Sanchez’s complex and complete unraveling as their quarterback. The only issue with this idea was the fact that the New York Jets had legitimately no one on their entire roster to help him out. He had Robbie Chosen formerly known as Robbie Anderson and Jamison Crowder as his top two pass catching options, a non-existent offensive line, and no running game to help him produce with the play action component of playing quarterback in the NFL. The results were a tumultuous period of constant losing in New York. The ultimate failure came with their GM investing his soul into a washed Le'veon Bell as their running back for the future who would single handedly destroy the running back market for years. So who was to blame? Sam Darnold. He struggled to process the field, constantly turned the ball over, and attributed his lack of vision at quarterback to the phenomenon of seeing ghosts on the football field. Yes, you heard that right. Sam Darnold saw ghosts. He said it himself when his Jets squad was getting pummeled by the Patriots on Monday Night Football in a 24-0 contest where his mic picked up the silly quote from the supposed QB prodigy. After three disappointing seasons with bottom AFC East finishes the team turned to the young, athletic BYU quarterback, Zach Wilson. Darnold made his next pitstop in the league with the Carolina Panthers with hope of a little resurgence in his young career.
In Carolina though it was once again the same old song and dance. Reunited with Robbie Chosen and now a legit WR1, DJ Moore, he had a shot to solidify himself as a decent starter in the NFL. The only issue was that he was once again playing behind an atrocious offensive line with no mobility as a quarterback and a pretty pitiful running game due to the offensive line’s shortcomings. In one season as the Panthers guy, Darnold looked downright terrible in 2021. 9 TDs and 13 interceptions later he was now firmly solidified as a backup QB playing a few games in the next season before getting sent to the bench. He was a bust and a far cry from the special talent football gurus thought he would be. Everyone had filed him away as a quarterback that likely would never see the field again. He left Carolina for the 49ers as their backup behind Brock Purdy in 2023 and started just one contest for the team in a 21-20 loss against the Rams in the season’s final game. He was only 26 years old, but was seemingly near the twilight of his career until the Minnesota Vikings decided to give him a call prior to the 2024 NFL season.
Coming into Minnesota Darnold now had one last shot as the team wanted a veteran presence to mentor their first pick, Michigan quarterback, JJ McCarthy. The Vikings gave him a one year $10 million contract. This time everything was different for Darnold. A stellar offensive line, an elite receiving core of Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, and a newly signed star running back Aaron Jones. The team was projected to bottom out in a loaded NFC North. With Kevin O’Connell’s ability to put together an offensive game plan that could highlight Darnold’s arm talent and a competitive fire burning within him, Darnold believed. The expectations were low, but boy was everyone wrong.
In 2024 he has played with a chip on his shoulder making gutsy throws deep down the field, squeezing the football into tight windows, and finally processing the field well. He’s had ups and downs this year, but now instead of being viewed as a career backup he has become a scorchingly hot commodity for teams that need a QB next season. He’s had two bad games all season that still saw his Vikings take down their opposition. Against the New York Jets in London and in a nightmare game against the Jaguars where Darnold turned the ball over three times in the red zone. Out of nowhere, and after a miraculous game winning effort against Arizona, Darnold has carried the Vikings to a 9-3 record behind a ruthless defense led by one of the elite defensive minds in all of football, Brian Flores. Now the Vikings are firmly in the hunt for the playoffs and even have a shot at winning the division with the multitude of injuries the Detroit Lions are facing on the defensive side of the ball. It makes a true fan emotional to see a comeback of this magnitude from a player that was likely finished in the NFL after an ugly start to his career.
It’s funny how there’s so much noise around busts while former stars are typically immune to critique. Just look no further than Colts Phillip Rivers, Jets Aaron Rodgers, and Falcons Kirk Cousins. Rodgers has been absolutely terrible, yet has the right to blame everything but himself. Rivers was just old on a mediocre team and had his best days of his playing career behind him, while Cousins was simply just a terrible deal by the Falcons GM because he cannot move and is a sitting duck behind a poor offensive line. I surely hope in the future people use the entire scope of an organization to analyze players. It was unfair to judge Darnold because he had no offensive minds to work with until Minnesota, had bottomfeeder rosters around him throughout his career, and had one season with a 1,000 yard receiver in his entire career before this season. It’s almost like people forget that top draft picks often go to dumpster fire rosters and if they get stuck with a bad Head Coach their career can be completely derailed. Just look at what has happened to Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville. A complete organizational failure, yet as a quarterback he simply has to shoulder blame for the team’s woes. To conclude this Darnold piece that’s the thought I want to instill in you, the reader. Blame organizations alongside players. Really dive into a team’s problems and don’t just look at box scores and amplified media jargon to judge players.
Russell Wilson (QB) Pittsburgh Steelers:
Man oh man could I sit here and talk about Russell Wilson’s career all day long. From NC State where he solidified himself as a big name to his senior season as quarterback of the Wisconsin Badgers. He was an elusive dual threat QB whose legs allowed for him to manipulate the pocket and launch picture-esque deep balls down the field. He had a cannon for an arm and turned in some of the most memorable primetime Big Ten games I’ve ever seen. Against Ohio State and Braxton Miller’s unreal spin move on a long touchdown reception, against MSU in a game where Kirk Cousins would best him on a tipped hail mary, and against the Oregon Ducks in the Rose Bowl where Russ would spike the football as time expired much to the dismay of his head coach Brett Bielema. He was entertaining to watch and alongside Kirk Cousins would fall to the middle of the NFL draft as he landed with the Seattle Seahawks. Here he would become the greatest Seahawks player to ever lace up the cleats, bringing the city a Super Bowl and ultimately should’ve had a second ring if Pete Carroll wasn’t a moron. Everyone knows about Russ’ run of consistency in Seattle, looking towards his duo of Golden Tate and Doug Baldwin to propel his team deep into the playoffs every year. Once it all came to an end before the 2022 season Russell was shipped off to Denver for a huge haul with the hopes of him doing something akin to what Peyton Manning did for John Elway. Here he was paired with Aaron Rodgers buddy and former OC, Nathaniel Hackett, and there was potential for even more success in a storybook career for Russ.
In 2022 with all eyes on the Broncos and seemingly every one of their games being broadcast as a primetime matchup, Wilson’s worst nightmare became a reality. He led the team to a 4-11 record as a starter leading an offense that was unable to score whatsoever. This was in large part due to how terrible Hackett’s play calling was with a majority of plays picking up little to no yardage, yet NFL fans found it easy to have a field day with Russ’ goofy quotes, lackluster play, and massive contract he had received from Denver. After one season Hackett was fired and successful Head Coach Sean Payton was infamously acquired by the Broncos before 2023. He had led multiple top tier offensive attacks with Drew Brees at the helm in New Orleans and the thought was that maybe he could steer the ship in the right direction, but there was an elephant in the room. Payton hated Russ and had no problem lighting into him. With Payton’s short yardage passing game to build a rhythm Russ was conflicted because he didn’t really mesh well with that concept. Zapped of his ability to launch the patented deep ball he had leaned on his whole career, there were an abundance of moments where he would look lost in the pocket and get trapped in the arms of a defensive lineman. Aside from the occasional long bomb he struggled to move the ball in Denver, passing for only 3,000 yards and having his career long issue of scoring in the red zone plague him. After an 8-9 season in 2023 Denver gave up on him after just his second season with the team. Just two years into a $242.5 million contract Russell had done irreparable damage to his legacy. This was until Wilson was traded to the Steelers with the Broncos still paying him $39 million and Pittsburgh owing him a measly $1.2 million for the 2024 season.
Alongside Justin Fields it was a debate whether or not he would be the starter, but with a lingering calf injury to start the year Justin was the de facto starter to begin the 2024 campaign. Fields would start out with many ups and downs and through six games had led the Steelers to a 4-2 record and after a blowout win Mike Tomlin made the bold move to start Russ against the Jets rather than Fields. In this game Russ erupted and made Tomlin look like a genius. Since then Russ hasn’t looked back and has led the Steelers to the top of the AFC North and a 9-3 record. He’s found a comfortable place in the offense where he checks it down, protects the football, gets the ball out quicker than he did in his Denver tenure, and once again has found that special deep ball of old. It’s a spectacle to watch in all honesty and now whenever George Pickens gets pressed Wilson takes his three step drop and immediately places the football directly into his breadbasket every time. If you asked anyone before the season who was winning the division nobody on this Earth would tell you the Pittsburgh Steelers. This is not the typical fluke Steelers too. Russ is doing this behind an injury riddled, below average unit as his offensive line and with a running game that features Najee Harris who looks like he’s running in goddamn quicksand for crying out loud. Please give the ball to Jaylen Warren. He's just a far better running back. It’s unreal that this team is in contention for anything and with Fields at QB, I don’t think there would be a shot that this team contends for the AFC North. From zero to hero. Unlimited heart, unlimited spirit, and now an unprecedented answer for a Steelers roster that has been reeling for YEARS at the quarterback position since Big Ben’s demise and departure. Truly might be one of the greatest comeback player of the year recipients I have ever seen. Thank you Russ. Hopefully you get more praise than the amount of hate you received in Denver. Even though there were several elements in Denver that caused the team to fail.
Geno Smith (QB) Seattle Seahawks:
This guy in college could only be summed up with one word. Electric. He lit up every team his West Virginia Mountaineers played in my earliest days of watching college football from 2009 on. Passing for an astounding 330 yards a game, 8 yards an attempt, and boasting a turnover ratio that ascended all the way up to 7 TDs : 1 INT in his senior season, he was the face of Mountaineer football. Perhaps the greatest player West Virginia will ever see, Geno in 2011 led his squad to a 10-3 record including their Bowl game rout of Clemson who was ranked 15th in the country. Geno led WVU to a 37 point margin of victory in a game that’s final score ended up being 70-33 in favor of the Mountaineers. This season caused the Big 12 to pull West Virginia out of the Big East conference they were in and into the Big 12. Geno’s play ascended in their new conference, yet their defense didn’t allow for the team to make a splash in the college football world in a Big 12 that put up shootouts every single contest. Despite starting 5-0, the team unraveled losing five straight games. Three blowouts and two heartbreakers later it was tough to get a read on how valuable Geno’s stock was heading into the 2013 NFL Draft. In desperation after the Jets Mark Sanchez at QB experiment had unraveled in just 3 seasons, which saw the team go to two straight AFC Championships, the Jets gambled and took Geno with the 39th pick in the 2013 NFL Draft.
In his two years as a starter for the Jets he got absolutely torn to shreds by the media as he would go on to turn the ball over 42 times in just two seasons while putting up 32 touchdowns through the air and on the ground. It was safe to say the Jets doomsday was upon them and even today in 2024 the Jets haven’t been able to find an answer at QB. Geno was relegated to a backup QB in New York for two more seasons until making two season long pit stops in New York, as a Giant and in Los Angeles, as a Charger. It was now considered safe to label the man a career backup. Once touted as a superstar and campus legend back at West Virginia, his fall from grace was sad to see. After these two seasons Geno would go to Seattle, spending another two years as a backup until a light appeared at the end of the tunnel. The team and Pete Carroll had decided to end their tenure with Russell Wilson at the helm playing quarterback bringing in Drew Lock via trade to compete for the starting job with Geno Smith. For most fans it was a foregone conclusion on who would be named the starter. A young Drew Lock who had tiny glimpses of potential in Denver or Geno Smith who had not had an achievement in eight NFL seasons. In a shocking turn of events Pete Carroll had seen something that year in the 2022 NFL preseason to name Geno the starter.
What happened next was potentially the greatest comeback the NFL would ever see. Geno tore up the league upon his return as he knew it was his last chance to have a career in the NFL. He led the league in completion percentage in his first year back (69.8%) and no longer had the turnover issue that had plagued him in his early playing days. He was launching missile after missile across the middle of the field, next to the boundary, and in some of the tightest windows imaginable. It was inspirational and the media ate it up. When they asked him about his comeback the infamous “They wrote me off, but I ain’t write back” slogan gave him a persona and a future as the Seahawks signal caller. His play carried the team to an unexpected wild card berth as he tossed 30 TDs to 11 INTs and won the award for Comeback Player of The Year. He passed for nearly 4,300 yards this season and added an additional 366 yards on the ground in 2022. The embodiment of heart and belief in yourself, Geno now had solidified himself as a household name once again. He’d go on to replicate his production the next season once again leading the team to a 9-8 record, but narrowly missing out on the playoffs.
Today Geno continues to be the Seahawks leader playing behind a rag tag offensive line that would give most quarterbacks an excuse for poor play, but not Geno. He’s staring father time directly in the eyes with an opportunity to snatch the divisional crown in the NFC West, a feat that would complete the greatest comeback story the league has ever seen. It won’t be easy considering the wild inconsistency of the Seahawks, but now he has a fortified defensive unit to help him out down the stretch. That’s what one must admire about Geno’s tenure with the Seahawks. All the team’s weight and the media’s pressure has fallen on Geno Smith’s shoulders despite the fact he was never even supposed to save the franchise. With a one game lead in a toss up NFC West anything can happen as the team’s last five games include two monumental divisional matchups with the Cards and the Rams. Although he has passed for 13 TDs & 12 INTs this year the box score doesn’t accurately tell the story of the 2024 Seattle Seahawks. A 104 yard pick six against the Rams leading to an overtime loss, massive red zone woes against Buffalo including a 25+ yard loss on a goal line fumble and an offensive lineman stepping on Geno’s legs on a crucial 4th down play at the goal line highlight just how wild their season has been. Many wasted opportunities for a team with high aspirations, yet they’ve taken each hardship in stride and have stumbled into an ideal situation. I couldn’t imagine a soul rooting against Geno, but man am I hopeful that Geno finally does it. The ESPN:30 for 30 would be mythical.
