‘Blunt’ Sam Darnold has a fitting response to whether the Jets failed him as an organization

Sam Darnold bluntly refused to blame the Jets for his failure in New York, when asked about it, following his success in Minnesota.

‘Blunt’ Sam Darnold has a fitting response to whether the Jets failed him as an organization

Sam Darnold (Via Sky Sports)

The expectations from the 2018 third overall pick were always high, however, Sam Darnold couldn’t stand up to those until this NFL season when he joined the Minnesota Vikings. The New York Jets drafted him to be the future franchise quarterback, however, his time with them met a crashing end in 2021, when they traded him to the Carolina Panthers.

This offseason, despite drafting J.J. McCarthy in the first round pick, the Vikings took a chance at the former Jets’ quarterback. To everyone’s surprise, he led the team to a four-game winning streak and logged 932 yards with 11 touchdowns and a 73.5 QBR in the last four matches of this season. 

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Seeing Darnold performance on the football fields, fans wondered whether his failure in New York was his fault or the team’s. When asked the quarterback about it, he gave a blunt response to the reporters. 

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“No,” said Darnold, when asked if the Jets failed him.

I had a lot of opportunities in New York and I always felt like I could have played better there.

Sam Darnold added

The reporters’ question was in reference to the Vikings’ head coach Kevin O’Connell‘s statement to Rich Eisen about how organizations often “fail young quarterbacks,” revolving around Darnold’s underwhelming performance with the Jets. Although the Jets did give the young quarterback three seasons to get comfortable, they couldn’t utilize his potential, unlike the Vikings. 

Sam Darnold prepares for showdown against former team Jets

The Vikings and Darnold are preparing to face off against his former team, the Jets in week 5 on the coming Sunday. Since he has already faced them previously with the Panthers, the quarterback isn’t thinking too much about his opponents. Instead, he is preparing with the same proven strategy that brought them victory in the past four weeks. 

Sam Darnold
Sam Darnold (Image via AP)

I’m not really thinking about that, to be honest. A lot of new faces over there. Still know a few players. I’m sure before the game, maybe after the game, seeing some of the people that I’ve built really good relationships with, that’s always the fun part about this league, being able to see people that you’ve worked with in the past.

Sam Darnold said

Darnold also admitted that compared to his previous matchup against the Jets, their defense has changed quite a lot. Regardless, he is focused on leading his team to a five-game winning streak, solidifying the odds of reaching the playoffs as Super Bowl contenders.