Bill Belichick: Everyone in the NFL liked Sam Darnold except the Jets

Bill Belichick took a little shot at the Jets on Monday when discussing the success their former quarterback, Sam Darnold, is having with the Vikings this season.

Belichick told Pat McAfee that the Jets, who drafted Darnold with the third overall pick in 2018 but traded him to the Panthers in 2021, were the only team in the NFL that didn’t recognize his talent when they moved him to Carolina.

“Everybody has liked Darnold except the Jets,” Belichick said. “The people in Carolina I talk to, they really liked him. He was with the Rams, not for very long, they liked him, I think they wanted to re-sign him, he was looking for more of an opportunity than playing behind Stafford. I know that Kevin and some of the coaches in Minnesota, they really like him, too. It seemed like the only people who didn’t like Darnold were the Jets.”

That would seem to be a shot at Jets General Manager Joe Douglas and coach Robert Saleh, although there’s a lot to unpack there. The Jets actually got a better return on the trade of Darnold to the Panthers — picks in the second, fourth and sixth rounds of the draft — than most people thought they would get after Darnold had three mostly disappointing seasons with the Jets. And if the Panthers liked him as much as Belichick is suggesting, they could have re-signed him, but they let him walk in free agency after his rookie contract expired. Furthermore, Darnold never played for the Rams — Belichick may have been confusing him with Baker Mayfield when saying he didn’t want to be Matthew Stafford’s backup.

When Darnold left the Panthers last year he signed with the 49ers on a one-year, $4.5 million contract, and this year he signed a one-year, $10 million contract with the Vikings. Through three games as a Viking he has played very well. Better than he played when he was with the Jets.