Sam Darnold opens up on infamous mono graphic during Jets stint - "This is just stupid"
In 2018, Sam Darnold was drafted third overall by the New York Jets, who had been looking for a stable franchise quarterback. What followed instead was one of the biggest catastrophes in franchise history, as Darnold threw nearly as many interceptions (39) as touchdowns (45), suffered at least 30 sacks each year for three seasons, and was eventually traded to the Carolina Panthers before 2021.
The low point of that stint came in 2019. Early in the season, Sam Darnold was forced to miss three games because of mononucleosis. And speaking on Pardon My Take, he criticized the graphic that had been shown to explain his absence:
"I was like, the sickest I've ever been. Like, on my deathbed. I was laying (sic) in bed watching the game, and that comes up (imitates ringing). My phone just blew up; all my friends (were) just like (imitates laughing), crying laughing face."
"And of course, I'm sick so I'm kind of laughing but also like 'This is so stupid'. Just another thing that I had to deal with in the media... I just remember when I did that stupid thing, OTAs, camp. I was like, 'No good is gonna come out of this for me.'"
Sam Darnold: OUT INDEFINITELY (mononucleosis)
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Sam Darnold's supernatural experience at new teammate George Kittle's house, explained
After two years with the Panthers, Sam Darnold got a new lease on life when he joined the San Francisco 49ers in March. Since then, he spent the offseason befriending his new teammates, including tight end George Kittle, with whom he attended a Golden State Warriors playoff game.
He also briefly lived in Kittle's house while he sought an apartment to rent during that time, but eventually moved out. In the same podcast, he explained why:
"It was crazy, though. I’ve never had anything like that happen before. And I’m talking about both the New England game and at George’s house. But it was crazy man. Like, I woke up, and you know how sometimes you have a dream and then you wake up and you feel like you can't move for like maybe four or five seconds, whatever it is?"
"And you know, I felt that, and I woke up, it was like 3 a.m., went to go take a pee and, you know, came back, fell right asleep. And then, that next night, the same thing happened, and I couldn’t, like, I had to keep focusing on this thing … there was something else in the room."
Sam Darnold continued:
"It was very creepy, and I had never dealt with anything like that before. I know a couple people who have had situations where there have been … whether it was like [an] old Civil War place where there is now like a hotel or a dorm and people have certain experiences with that."
"But it was just like super, super weird, and it just felt like when I woke up there was something, like, holding on to me, and then that next night, I … felt that something was in the room with me, and it was … the freakiest thing. I'm like getting chills talking about it right now, but that's never happened to me before."