While the focus has mostly been on Justin Fields and then Aaron Rodgers for the Pittsburgh Steelers in free agency so far, they were also reportedly in on Sam Darnold. It wasn’t the most exciting FA quarterback class, but Darnold was the best that the market had to offer. According to SI.com’s Albert Breer, perhaps he would have considered the Steelers more if the negotiations went a little differently.
“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 via his SI.com mailbag. “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.”
Just the other day, Breer said that Darnold was initially intrigued by the idea of playing in Pittsburgh under Mike Tomlin.
It is unclear how much money, if any, the Steelers put together in an offer for Darnold. Money talks, so the chances are that Darnold’s worry about having a chance to prove his long-term value to the team was tied to the lack of certain financial guarantees or the overall structure of the contract.
Seattle gave him a three-year deal that gives him $37.5 million in year one with a hefty injury guarantee and some early roster bonuses baked in for the subsequent two seasons to force an early decision.
The Steelers are reportedly looking to give a veteran quarterback a one-year deal, which points to their interest in drafting a quarterback this year or next.
If that has been their objective from the start, that could explain why Justin Fields chose the Jets or why Darnold chose the Seahawks. Nobody wants to be treated like a one-year rental, and the Steelers’ top objective over the next 13 months is to find the franchise quarterback of the future in Pittsburgh.
Darnold could have been an intriguing option, and his contract came in a little lighter than I think many expected in Seattle, but the Steelers aren’t looking for a band-aid. 27-year-old Sam Darnold was 21-35 prior to his breakout year with the Minnesota Vikings last year. He is far from a slam-dunk prospect to be a franchise quarterback at this point, so I understand the Steelers’ line of thinking if this report is accurate.
