Laura Rutledge Explains Awkward Postgame Interview With Sam Darnold

Laura Rutledge hasn’t had much downtime over the last few days, but she still has room in her schedule to put some rumors to rest.

The ESPN reporter — who has been running around (literally) covering college football and the NFL over the weekend — took to X to clarify what happened after the Seattle Seahawks vs. San Francisco 49ers game at Levi’s Stadium on Saturday, January 3.

After a massive 13-3 win for the Seahawks, which saw them clinch the No. 1 seed in the NFC, Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold seemed to brush off Rutledge, 37, as she was trying to get a postgame interview.

A user on X posted a clip of the moment, berating Darnold, 28, for skipping out on the interview. (Rutledge eventually talked to Darnold after the game.)

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Rutledge responded to the social media post, clarifying that Darnold was looking for 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy at the time and came back around for the interview.

“Hey! You may have missed where I explained that I told Darnold to take his time talking to whoever he wanted to see because we had time before we were going off air,” Rutledge posted after the incident went viral. “He was looking for Brock Purdy and was able to find him and then graciously did the interview.”

Responding to another post, she said: “Actually we had a lot of time till we had to go off air so I told Darnold he had plenty of time to talk to whoever he wanted to see. Thanks!”

The incident comes just a few weeks after Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert went viral for brushing off Rutledge after the team’s victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on December 8.

After some pushback, Herbert, 27, eventually answered Rutledge’s questions — although he gave short, fast responses and was clearly distracted in the moment.

The quarterback — who is currently dating singer Madison Beer — took criticism at the time for attempting to dodge the interview.

Rutledge laughed off the original incident on social media, sharing a clip of the interview and writing, “Rough day at the office. Let’s all have a good laugh and move on!”

In addition to her sideline reporting duties for Monday Night Football and primetime college football games, Rutledge hosts NFL Live and SEC Nation, giving her an undoubtedly full schedule.

Fans saw firsthand how every second counts in Rutledge’s schedule, as she went viral for her double-duty during the College Football Playoff quarterfinal between the Georgia Bulldogs and Ole Miss Rebels on Thursday, January 1.

Rutledge was spotted sprinting across the field at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, having less than 60 seconds to run from her halftime sideline interview to host the College Football Playoff halftime show.

“There is probably two minutes to get to the set,” Rutledge told The Athletic in an interview published on Friday, January 2. “It’s super fast. The point of getting there as quickly as possible is not only just because we’re going to be live on TV, but it’s also because I have to figure out exactly what we’re doing.”