Insider Reveals Why Steelers Lost Out on QB Sam Darnold
Sports Illustrated insider Albert Breer revealed why the Pittsburgh Steelers failed to sign quarterback Sam Darnold.
Veteran quarterback Sam Darnold reportedly liked the idea of playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers, but he ultimately signed a three-year, $110.5 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks. So why did the Steelers fail to sign him?
According to Sports Illustrated insider Albert Breer, it wasn’t really about money and more so due to the fact that Pittsburgh was unwilling to grant Darnold the franchise quarterback label, which the Seahawks clearly were.
“That brings us to what appealed about the Seahawks to Darnold, and that was that he’d legitimately get time to prove himself as a viable long-term option for a team,” Breer wrote. “There was doubt he’d get that with the Minnesota Vikings, and negotiations with the Pittsburgh Steelers gave him no assurance of it, either. The Seahawks are going to give him every chance to be that guy.”
It’s safe to assume that Darnold would have been the Steelers undoubted starter for the 2025 season, but past that is up for debate.
Pittsburgh has been stuck in quarterback purgatory ever since Ben Roethlisberger retired following the 2021 season and the 2026 NFL Draft is supposedly rich with quarterback talent.
So the Steelers are really looking for a placeholder for the 2025 season until they can add a younger talent to the room in a year. Darnold was not interested in that label, and rightfully so following his 2024 campaign.
Darnold thew for a career-high 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns with the Minnesota Vikings last season, finally reaching the expectations many had for him as the No. 3 overall pick by the New York Jets in 2018.
The Steelers are living with that decision as they are still stuck waiting for free agent quarterback Aaron Rodgers to make a decision on where he wants to play in 2025.
It remains to be seen when Rodgers will decide, but if Pittsburgh finds a way to lose out on landing Rodgers, too, the team might be kicking itself for letting the 14-years-younger Darnold go.