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Mina Kimes isn’t afraid to own botched takes.
When celebrating the Seahawks’ Super Bowl 2026 berth on Sunday after Sam Darnold and Co. defeated the Rams in the NFC Championship, 31-27, one X user called attention to a March 2025 post from the ESPN personality and noted Seattle fan, who decried the team’s decision to move on from then-QB Geno Smith.
“Your empty words fall on deaf ears. You thought it was a mistake to lose Geno. Must be nice to just be wrong and pretend you said nothing,” the X user posted.
Kimes — who originally called the Smith trade to Las Vegas “a terrible move by Seattle,” as the “chances of upgrading are extremely low” — acknowledged while she’s been “wrong a bunch,” growth comes from understanding mistakes.
“I did, and have said I was wrong a bunch! (You can search for it on here),” Kimes replied to the X user. “Also discussed on my pod a lot. Part of the job is trying to understand why you’re wrong so you can get better, imo.”
Kimes’ take in question was originally posted on March 7, 2025, just three days before the Seahawks agreed to a three-year, $100.5 million contract with Darnold. She recognized the timeline in a separate X post Sunday.
Smith, who agreed to a two-year, $75 million contract extension with the Raiders following the trade, had a season to forget in Las Vegas, with the team finishing at 3-14 and becoming the owners of the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft.
The Raiders now appear poised to draft their quarterback of the future, with many projecting it to be Indiana national champion Fernando Mendoza, as a new coach will take over for the since-fired Pete Carroll.
As for the Seahawks, the first year of their union with Darnold could not have turned out better.
The team earned the top seed in the NFC at 14-3 before punching its ticket to the big game in Santa Clara on Feb. 8.
Darnold, a 2018 Jets first-round pick who had largely been written off as a bust before reviving his career in Minnesota last year, dazzled in Sunday’s NFC title game, tossing three touchdowns and zero interceptions.
“You can’t talk about the game without talking about our quarterback,” Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said afterward. “I mean he just shut a lot of people up tonight, so I’m really happy for him.”
Kimes was certainly elated for Darnold, posting on X: “Man…I’m just really freakin happy for Sam Darnold. We were in Arizona for his loss to the Rams last year — to go from that to this, and from castoff to the Super Bowl. What an incredible journey. What a game. What a moment for him.”
Darnold will take to the league’s biggest stage in less than two weeks when the Seahawks face the Patriots in Super Bowl 2026.
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