Seahawks sign quarterback Sam Darnold

The Seahawks have their new quarterback.

Can he duplicate his one, wondrous season he just had in Minnesota?

Seattle and free agent Sam Darnold have reached agreement on a three-year contract, according to multiple reports Monday morning.

The deal for the 27-year-old Darnold, who is coming off a 4,300-yard passing season with 35 touchdowns for the 14-3 Minnesota Vikings, includes $55 million guaranteed and could be worth up to $110.5 million through the 2027 season. That’s per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini and others.

Darnold is seven years younger than Geno Smith, Seattle’s starter the last three seasons.

His signing will become official Wednesday, the first day of free agency and the new NFL year.

Darnold’s agreement came three days after the Seahawks agreed to trade Smith, their two-time Pro Bowl quarterback, to Pete Carroll’s Las Vegas Raiders.

General manager John Schneider and coach Mike Macdonald made that trade after they offered what league sources said was $35 million-$40 million per year on an extension to keep Smith in Seattle beyond his contract ended with the 2025 season. Smith wanted more, upwards of $45 million per year.

Rather than wait days for a counteroffer that never came, Schneider quickly pivoted. He traded Smith to the coach that revived his career in Seattle in 2022, after the Seahawks traded Russell Wilson to Denver that spring.

Darnold was Schneider’s target post-Smith from the moment Smith refused Seattle’s contract offer early last week. Macdonald and new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak believe Darnold’s ability to throw quickly and on the run fits what Kubiak wants his quarterback to do in his system.

Darnold has also had top-of-the-league success in pass plays that begin with an increasingly rarity in the NFL: the direct snap under center. Kubiak used that last season as New Orleans’ offensive coordinator more than most OCs in the league do, at least until Saints franchise quarterback Derek Carr got injured.

In his breakout season with the Vikings last season, Darnold under center with play-action and pre-snap motion last season completed 66 of 96 passes for 912 yards, 463 air yards, eight touchdowns, zero interceptions and a passer rating of 126.7. Those numbers are per Doug Farrar of Athlon Sports.

Running primarily out of shotgun last season in the system of eventually fired offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, Smith threw 15 interceptions for the Seahawks. That was second-most in the league. He led the NFL with five interceptions in the red zone.

Seattle missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season.

Darnold will sign for an average of up to $36.8 million per season. That’s more than $8 million per year less than Smith was believed to be wanting from the Seahawks.