Ex-Jets GM Mike Maccagnan gets brutally honest about Sam Darnold

Since Sam Darnold's emergence with the Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks, it's hard not to look back on his time with the New York Jets and wonder what could've been had the franchise decided not to trade him in the spring of 2021.

After three up-and-down seasons in New York, general manager Joe Douglas and newly hired head coach Robert Saleh decided to cut bait with Darnold and reset their quarterback situation with BYU's Zach Wilson, a decision that will go down in infamy in Jets history.

The general manager who selected Darnold, though, Mike Maccagnan, always believed in his abilities and latent talent, even if it didn't translate to the field in his short Jets tenure.

He said as much in an interview with ESPN's Rich Cimini.

Mike Maccagnan opens up about Sam Darnold in first interview since Jets firing

"I was always kind of sad that Sam wasn't able to fulfill that potential in New York. That's where he started his journey, and, in an ideal world, he would've finished it there," Maccagnan told Cimini in an interview this week, the first he's done since being fired by New York in May 2019.

"In our business, when you see something, and it turns out the way you envisioned it, it makes you feel good. I think every scout probably feels that way."

Mike Maccagnan

Darnold's first two seasons with the Jets weren't perfect, but he showed the flashes that made him the No. 3 overall pick coming out of USC in 2018.

2020, however, was a different story. Darnold struggled mightily throughout the season, and while his supporting cast looked questionable at best, Joe Flacco had better performances when spot-starting for the injured Darnold. It certainly made the decision to trade him easier early in the next offseason.

Now, after back-to-back 14-win seasons with the Vikings and Seahawks, Darnold is set to start in the Super Bowl, something a Jets quarterback hasn't done since January 1969.

As every Jets fan tunes into the big game next weekend, the only thought running through each of their minds will be: "Man, what if we had just held onto him for another season or two?"

"My personal opinion: I would've liked to have seen him get a full opportunity there," Maccagnan also told Cimini.

"But at the end of the day, I wasn't in that building, so I can't say, 'They should've done this, this and this.' I wasn't around. But I was saddened to see them trade him."

Mike Maccagnan

Darnold will be facing an old Jets foe on Sunday, the New England Patriots, a team he was never able to conquer during his time in New York, and actually lost to in his final game in a Jets uniform.

I don't know how other Jets fans feel about seeing their "ex" compete at football's highest stage, but for me personally, I'll be dusting off my old No. 14 jersey and rooting for Darnold and the Seahawks to prevent a seventh Super Bowl championship in New England.