The Sam Darnold story has been highly publicised in recent weeks after winning Super Bowl LX, and quite rightly.

After struggling with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers before a backup role with the San Francisco 49ers, Darnold had a resurgence with the Minnesota Vikings in 2024.

Despite guiding them to 14 wins that season, the Vikings put faith in JJ McCarthy over him.

He moved to Seattle and guided them to the second Super Bowl in the franchise’s history. Going from the struggles he had to what he accomplished this season, is a story that will be told for years to come and one that will be used to inspire high school and college players.

Sometimes, it is just the wrong place at the wrong time for some players, as it was for Darnold. We will now see other quarterbacks looking to make a similar story in their careers. Daniel Jones almost had a similar one this season, with he and the Colts going 8-2 to start 2025 before his injury was collateral damage to an awful end to the season for the team.

Here are five contenders that are most likely to have a Darnold type of resurgence in 2026

News broke in recent days that the Indianapolis Colts and quarterback Anthony Richardson had mutually agreed to a trade away from the team.

Picked fourth overall by the Colts in the 2023 NFL Draft, Richardson’s career has not gone to plan.

A mixture of health and accuracy issues has seen Richardson fail to live up to his potential that was shown in parts with the Florida Gators.

Like Darnold, Richardson had his own “seeing ghosts” moment that went viral.

In Week Eight of the 2024 season, Richardson was seen tapping his helmet, implying that he was too tired for the play.

A lot of people’s trust in Richardson went at that point, but he has a chance to turn it around for whichever team he goes to.

If the Cardinals were to move on from Kyler Murray, he would have Trey McBride and Marvin Harrison Jr to throw to.

Richardson is only 23 years old and has all the time in the world to improve as a quarterback. He would struggle to start for a third team if he were to fail in his next destination, but Darnold proved that you can succeed in your fourth or fifth. However, this is rare.

Richardson has the size and potential to have a good NFL career and he could definitely become a great player in the league if he goes to the right fit.

McCarthy has become the fall guy in the Darnold story.

With their former quarterback’s success in Seattle, the focus on McCarthy is even more magnified and these two may be compared for the rest of their careers.

McCarthy has struggled to stay healthy but it is worth pointing out that Darnold had success with a very similar supporting cast a year prior.

If McCarthy can stay on the field, then he has the same situation around him that was afforded to Darnold. After all, at Michigan, he won games, even going on to win a National Championship.

Still young, playing under a bright young head coach in Kevin O’Connell, he has the tools in place to succeed.

It is looking like the end for Kyler Murray with the Arizona Cardinals.

However, the talent is there, Murray just hasn’t found a way to make this a consistent theme.

If he can go to a team with the right fit, he can definitely have something that somewhat resonates what Darnold did in Minnesota or Seattle.

During parts of the 2025 NFL season, there was talk of whether Mac Jones should be the San Francisco 49ers quarterback over Brock Purdy.

Across eight starts in 2025, Jones threw for 13 touchdowns and six interceptions from 289 attempted passes, with 2,151 passing yards.

He won five of his eight starts and was solid.

Jones excelled in his 2021 rookie year for the New England Patriots after being taken 15th overall but was sadly the fall guy of the difficult end to the Bill Belichick tenure.

If Jones had been drafted ten years earlier, his first five seasons as a pro would have gone a whole lot different.

Jones proved at the Niners that if he is in good situation, with a stable roster, he can be a good player in the league.

He has had his time as a backup as Darnold did with the same team, and this will stand him in good stead should he get a starting role this offseason.

Going to a stable organisation such as the Pittsburgh Steelers if Aaron Rodgers does not return, or taking a chance with the Cardinals, Jones is a strong candidate to have a career year in 2026.

There has been a lot of discussion about Tua Tagovailoa in recent days, with talks over his future a big talking point in the NFL combine.

New Miami Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and new head coach Jeff Hafley have been asked extensively about their 2020 fifth overall pick.

Reports are starting to strongly indicate Tagovailoa’s future is away from the team. Multiple insiders, such as Dan Graziano and Adam Schefter, have posted on social media that the Dolphins will designate him as a post-June 1st release in their bids to reduce some of the salary cap hit that currently stands at a staggering $99 million.

Despite Tua’s limitations in arm strength, or ability to win games in temperatures below 40 degrees or against teams with records of 500. or better, he still has some upside.

His injury history is a big concern, but in his one season he played in full, he led the league in passing yards. There is strong talk of the Atlanta Falcons wanting his services and with talent such as Bijan Robinson, Drake London and Kyle Pitts around him, this will make his life somewhat easier.

Tua has been often compared to Drew Brees, someone who was also written off due to injury issues. Once again, sometimes there can be the wrong player at the wrong time.

Andy Davies

The next Sam Darnold in 2026?

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