Seattle Seahawks tight end AJ Barner didnât hesitate when asked what heâs seen from Sam Darnold coming off a four-interception loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
Barner said the quarterback is âthe same dog that heâs been,â pointing back to Darnoldâs four-touchdown demolition of the Washington Commanders in Week 9 and his 14-3 season with the Minnesota Vikings last year. His comments came in a press conference as the Seahawks prepared to take on the Titans.Â
âHeâs the same guy that had us at 7-3, same guy that went 14-3 last year,â Barner said, adding that to him, Darnold is simply âa winner.â
The tight endâs comments come in the wake of linebacker Ernest Jones IVâs now-viral defense of Darnold, when Jones told critics, âHeâs our quarterback⦠if youâve got anything to say, quite frankly, f— you.â Barner joked he wanted to âcheck the rulesâ to see if he could say the same thing at the podium, but made it clear he and the rest of the locker room are aligned with Jones.
Barner boiled his message down to a blunt, two-word mantra for his quarterback: âCanât care.â
When it comes to outside noise about Darnold, Barner said the quarterback has to tune it out. âI think at this point itâs like, it is what it is,â Barner said. âSamâs old enough in this league⦠for lack of a better term, screw it. Canât care. Canât care. He knows who he is.â
He noted that Darnold knows who he is, and that the teamâs mentality is â12 as one.â Whether itâs the Pro Bowl quarterback or a practice-squad player, theyâre going to have each otherâs backs.
Seattle dropped to 7-3 with the 21-19 loss to the Rams, but still sits firmly in the NFC playoff picture heading into November 23âs road game against the Tennessee Titans.
What AJ Barner Says Has to Change for Seahawksâ Turnovers
Barner also acknowledged the issue everyone around the Seahawks is talking about: turnovers.
Seattle has coughed the ball up 20 times this season, including 12 in the last four games, the most giveaways in the NFL over that stretch. Ten of those belong to Darnold, but Barner stressed itâs on the entire offense, not just the quarterback.
He pointed to âbeing on timeâ in the passing game, receivers being exactly where Darnold expects, and protection holding up long enough for routes to develop. As a route runner, he said itâs about âbeing where the quarterback wants you to be,â so when plays break down, Darnold knows where his outlet is.
Barner also turned the spotlight on himself when asked about his own recent fumbles â both recovered, but still on tape.
âJust got to protect the rock,â he said, adding that he wants to be violent with the ball in his hands but has to know when a play is over and itâs time to get down.
In the red zone, where Seattle settled for three Jason Myers field goals against the Rams, Barner said the offense has to both finish drives and, if it gets to fourth down, make sure theyâre in âstriking distanceâ so analytics actually support going for it on fourth-and-short rather than fourth-and-long.
Breakout Game, Titans Trip & Ronald McDonald House Visit
Even in the Rams loss, Barner quietly turned in a breakout performance that explains why his voice is starting to carry more weight in the locker room.
The second-year tight end caught 10 of 11 targets for 70 yards, both career highs, and was repeatedly used by Darnold as a third-down chain-mover and underneath âsafety blanket.â He now has 31 catches for 306 yards and four touchdowns on the season, putting him firmly on the radar for fantasy football managers and Seahawks fans looking for another reliable weapon in the passing game.
Barner said it doesnât matter if the ball comes his way once or 10 times â his mindset is to make every target count and âcontribute however I can to help us win.â
Off the field, Barner is channeling some of that energy into a new partnership with Ronald McDonald House Charities. He talked about growing up around McDonaldâs, working with the company to promote its community efforts and planning an upcoming visit to a Ronald McDonald House to spend time with families of sick children, something he said heâs âpassionate about and excited to do.â
With a road trip to face the 1-9 Titans next â and Seattleâs turnover problem under a national microscope â Barnerâs message is simple: protect the ball, stay on schedule, and keep believing in the quarterback he calls the same winner heâs always been.
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