Resurfaced Joe Douglas quote proves Jets were right about Sam Darnold

Sam Darnold just authored one of the defining moments of his football career, leading the Seattle Seahawks to a 31–27 win over the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game. It's an achievement that likely has many New York Jets fans feeling conflicted.

In his first season in Seattle after signing a three-year, $100.5 million contract, Darnold managed to accomplish something no quarterback in NFL history has done, winning 14 games in back-to-back seasons with two different teams.

Somehow, he’s also become the first quarterback from the vaunted 2018 draft class — ahead of Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Baker Mayfield — to start in a Super Bowl.

Watching Darnold thrive as a Jets fan feels like a proud parent moment, except it comes with the quiet acknowledgment that CPS was called and the kid had to be rehomed before everything finally clicked.

It’s another reminder that nothing ever truly leaves the Jets orbit, not even former quarterbacks playing on the sport’s biggest stage. Just ask former Jets general manager Joe Douglas, who had a timely quote resurface in the wake of Darnold's career night.

Joe Douglas and the Jets were right about Sam Darnold

"Whether I look bad or not, I could give two shits about that. I know he’s gonna have success. The timing didn’t really work out here. We couldn’t turn this around fast enough for him, and that’s not his fault."

Joe Douglas

That above quote was said by Douglas after the Jets traded Darnold to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for second, fourth, and sixth-round picks back in 2021. Five years later, Douglas has somewhat been proven right.

As uncomfortable as that quote might look in hindsight, Douglas wasn’t wrong then, and he isn’t wrong now. The Jets were backed into a corner with their Darnold decision five years ago.

Darnold had spent three seasons in Florham Park and produced three years of bad tape. His rookie contract was nearing its end, a fifth-year option decision loomed, and the Jets held the No. 2 overall pick in what was widely viewed as a stacked quarterback class.

Running it back with Darnold would have been malpractice. There simply wasn’t a football argument for doing so.

Douglas acknowledged that reality at the time, openly admitting the Jets couldn’t turn things around fast enough for Darnold and that it wasn’t the quarterback’s fault. He was right.

The environment Darnold was placed in was a nightmare, with a disastrous offensive coaching under Adam Gase, abysmal offensive lines, and wide receiver rooms headlined by Jamison Crowder, Breshad Perriman, Denzel Mims, and Keelan Cole. It was dysfunction layered on dysfunction.

The Jets may not have misjudged Darnold’s talent, but they indisputably mismanaged his development. Once that damage was done, moving on was the only logical option. The quote may get laughed at now, but Douglas told the truth then, even if it makes the Jets look worse today.