Darnold signed a three-year pact with Seattle and proceeded to enjoy a second consecutive Pro Bowl year.
McCarthy struggled to find his footing in Minnesota and missed seven games, causing the Vikings to turn to Carson Wentz for five starts and undrafted rookie Max Brosmer for two. McCarthy finished with 1,632 yards, 11 TDs and 12 interceptions compared to Darnold’s 4,048 yards, 25 TDs and 14 picks; Minnesota’s offense plummeted from ninth in points in 2024 to 26th, while Seattle soared to third in scoring from a previous 18th the season prior.
Most importantly, the Seahawks won, finishing with the most regular-season victories in franchise history at 14-3. (A 17th game, added to the NFL regular season in 2021, obviously helped in that regard, but Seattle had only reached 13 wins twice before.)
Darnold, now only the second QB in league history along with Tom Brady to win at least 14 games in consecutive seasons, also avoided another playoff blip, overcoming an oblique injury to land the Seahawks in the Super Bowl.
Jefferson is happy for his former signal-caller despite admitting it’s difficult to watch any other team than his own find the postseason success he covets.
“I love that he’s in the Super Bowl,” Jefferson said. “I’m happy for him. I want nothing but the best for him, especially the way his journey was at first. People doubting him and people not giving him the respect. Now they’re giving him that respect. They’re seeing that he’s a top-tier quarterback in this league.
“Selfishly, I wish that he had done that for us last year, but to see him blossom and bounce back right after last year and make it this year, I’m all happy for him and I hope he wins. I’m rooting for Seattle, and I think Seattle’s gonna win.”
It unfortunately wasn’t just team success that eluded Jefferson in 2025.
For so long one of the foremost wideouts in the NFL, Jefferson notably disappeared for large swaths of his sixth season amid Minnesota’s struggles under center. He still logged a sixth-straight 1,000-yard-recieving campaign, but his 1,048 yards marked a career worst, as did his two TD catches, 12.5 yards per reception, 4.9 receptions per game and 61.6 yards per game.
He nonetheless avoided knocking McCarthy in his praise of Darnold, saying he continued to have confidence in the young QB throughout the process.
“Obviously during this offseason we’ll work more to get to where we would like to go,” Jefferson added. “It’s building blocks to it. It don’t just happen overnight.”
As for his own down season, it served as a wake-up call for Jefferson — and perhaps bad news for all tasked with defending him moving forward.
“Not every season is going to be the top-tier season,” he said. “There’s not too many people that have consecutive years dominating the league, you know, I’ve been dominating. It’s just all part of the plan. It’s all God’s plan. Just really a wake-up moment that I’ve got to go back to work. Even though I don’t feel that the season was on me, but just going back to work, personally I feel like I can do better. Personally, I feel like there’s ways to do better and better my craft.”
