Sam Darnold Trolled by Former 49ers Teammate

New Minnesota Vikings QB1 Sam Darnold will be taking on his former San Francisco 49ers team on Sunday inside U.S. Bank Stadium. Darnold spent last season as Brock Purdy’s backup with San Francisco. He saw action in 10 games, starting one.

His only season with the 49ers resulted in 46 pass attempts, two touchdowns and an interception. This is somewhat of a backstory as the Vikings look to maintain their home dominance over the 49ers.

The defending NFC champs have not won in Minnesota in over three decades. It’s one of the craziest stats heading into NFL Week 2 action. For the Vikings, confidence has to be somewhat high after a blowout win over the lowly New York Giants in their season opener.

San Francisco 49ers’ Deommodore Lenoir Trolls Sam Darnold

Considered a first-round draft bust of the New York Jets from back in 2018, Sam Darnold performed well in his Vikings regular-season debut. The former USC star completed 19-of-24 passes for 208 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in the 28-6 road win.

In no way does this mean that Darnold has the respect of his former 49ers teammates. One actually went as far to troll him big time heading into Sunday’s game. Lenoir went against Darnold in practice throughout all of last season.

The former Oregon standout and rising star touched on that in speaking with the media days ahead of Sunday’s game. He did not hold back. “Me and Sam, we just had this connection. He liked to throw the ball to me,” Lenoir said. Man, did he really have to do Sam Darnold dirty like that? Sometimes, things are better left unsaid.

Deommodore Lenoir on his matchup with Sam Darnold:

“I think I win that for sure. I believe I win. Me and Sam, we have this connection, this connection where he likes to throw the ball to me… This week I’m coming, he knows it.”

🎥: @KNBR pic.twitter.com/bbaOMB9LFV

— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) September 12, 2024

Prove it day for Minnesota Vikings new QB

Sam Darnold has caught strays throughout his otherwise pedestrian career. But he’s now being given an opportunity to prove his worth as a starter-caliber quarterback with rookie J.J. McCarthy sidelined for the season.

As for Sunday’s matchup, it is not going to be easy pickings for Darnold and Co. San Francisco held Aaron Rodgers to 167 passing yards in Monday night’s blowout win over the New York Jets.

Read More: NFL Expert Thinks Sam Darnold Can Carry Minnesota Vikings to the Playoffs

Lenoir also played a role in Rodgers’ only interception, tipping a pass intended for Garrett Wilson. He yielded a mere 75.2 QB rating when targeted a season ago. As a unit, the 49ers’ defense gave up 20 passing touchdowns against 22 interceptions.