Many NFL fans and media are picking on Sam Darnold right now, and on ESPN’s First Take Tuesday, Dan Orlovsky took some verbal abuse from colleagues for praising the Minnesota Vikings quarterback this season.
Darnold has enjoyed the best season of his career, but that revitalized QB was nowhere to be found when he struggled in the regular-season finale and then against the Los Angeles Rams in a 27-9 Wild Card loss Monday night.
Darnold will be a free agent this offseason and even Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell seemed to be speaking about the Darnold era in the past tense after the loss, saying “It did not work out in the end.”
There are a few clips on social media showing Orlovsky praising Darnold this season. Just a few weeks ago, he called him “a really, really elite quarterback” when he’s seeing the field well. So the ESPN NFL analyst had to know he’d get a hard time Tuesday, and Stephen A. Smith wasted no time addressing the issue.
“When Sam Darnold was balling out,” Smith yelled, “I sat up there weeks in advance and I said, ‘We’re gonna see when it counts,’ because you’ve got about six years of history to look at! You said, ‘You’re holding onto the past!
“Now … you’re trying to deny what you were saying!”
“No, I didn’t!” Orlovsky responded. “Don’t make me out to be a liar! Don’t make me out to be a liar!”
“You said I’m making stuff up!” Smith said. “We’ve got receipts of you talking about Sam Darnold! … I’ll parade them all over the world.”
Shannon Sharpe jumped into the conversation.
“Stephen A., that’s harsh, I mean calling D.O. a liar is a little harsh on national television,” Sharpe said.
“Thank you,” Orlovsky said.
“Let’s just say he misspoke the truth,” Sharpe finished.
Stephen A. Smith to Dan Orlovsky: “We’ve got receipts of you talking about Sam Darnold… I’ll parade them all over the world.”
Shannon Sharpe: “Calling D.O. a liar is a little harsh on national television.”
Orlovsky: “Thank you.”
Sharpe: “Let’s just say he misspoke the truth” pic.twitter.com/KhTEbAhlOe
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 14, 2025
Orlovsky has definitely been a believer in Darnold, going back several years. Here’s one example from 2020, when he rated the then-New York Jets QB ahead of Josh Allen and Tua Tagovailoa.
Dan Orlovsky speaks on why Sam Darnold will be a great QB on @GetUpESPN: pic.twitter.com/BLE8HLSJeJ
— 𝙅𝙀𝙏𝙎 𝙈𝙀𝘿𝙄𝘼🛫 (@NYJets_Media) May 27, 2020
Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like his ongoing defenses will hold up from here on out.
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.