Sam Darnold Has Harsh Critique of His Time With The New York Jets

The No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 draft is finding success with the fourth team he's been with in five seasons. On Wednesday, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold opened up on his time with the New York Jets.

The Jets drafted Darnold as a then 20-year-old out of USC. He would play with New York for three seasons before they traded him to the Carolina Panthers in the 2021 offseason.

Darnold's time with the Jets was mired with inconsistent play and losing. He went 729-of-1219 passing for 8,097 yards, 45 touchdowns and 39 interceptions. New York had a 12-25 record with the Dana Point, California native as their starting quarterback.

Darnold would put up similar fickle stats with the Carolina Panthers, throwing 16 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in two seasons. After being the backup quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers in 2023, Darnold is having a stellar start with the Vikings this season.

The Vikings are 4-0, with Darnold going 73-of-106 passing for 932 yards, 11 touchdowns and three interceptions.

Darnold was asked by a reporter this week if he felt the Jets had "failed" him in his development as a young quarterback. The 27-year-old criticized his play with the Jets instead of blaming the organization.

"No. I think I had a lot of opportunities in New York and I always felt like I could have played better there," Darnold said , via video posted on the Vikings' YouTube channel.

Darnold will have an opportunity to play the Jets on Sunday morning in London. He will face veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who New York traded for after Darnold's successor, Zach Wilson, failed to develop in the organization.

Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell might have a different opinion on the Jets and Darnold. Last week, O'Connell said on the "Rich Eisen Show" that teams often "fail" young quarterbacks.

"I just think as a whole, there's not enough emphasis put on the organization's role in the development of the position, meaning I believe that organizations fail young quarterbacks before young quarterbacks fail organizations," O'Connell said.

O'Connell, a former quarterback taken in the third round by the New England Patriots in 2008, didn't want to offer a specific situation where a team let down a young signal caller.

Darnold won't say it before Sunday's matchup, but he'll try to prove the Jets made a mistake by leading the Vikings to a 5-0 record against his former team.

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