The Seattle Seahawks have ruled out Sam Darnold for their game against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, but coach Mike Macdonald said Wednesday that there are no plans to place the quarterback on injured reserve.
Darnold is dealing with a glute injury that knocked him out of Seattle’s season opener. An IR stint would require him to miss at least the next four games, so keeping Darnold on the 53-man roster indicates the Seahawks believe he has a chance to return before then.
Drew Lock will start for Seattle in Darnold’s absence.
Following the Arizona game, the reigning Super Bowl champions will visit the Washington Commanders in Week 3, then host the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 4 and the San Francisco 49ers in Week 5.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, multiple sources are bracing for Darnold to miss roughly four weeks from the time of his injury but are hoping he can come back sooner. One source told Fowler that Darnold returning for the 49ers game in Week 5 feels like a possibility. Another source estimated that he’ll be sidelined for three to four weeks and added that the quarterback is moving around much better in recent days.
In a statement to local reporters on Monday, the Seahawks described Darnold as having a “very unique soft-tissue” injury.
“Don’t anticipate putting him on IR or anything like that, but we’ll just kind of re-evaluate every day and re-evaluate next week and we’ll go from there,” Macdonald said Wednesday. “But he won’t play this week.”
Darnold’s injury is in the area of his right glute. He was hurt on the fifth play of the opener when his right knee hit the turf as he was being sacked from behind. He hobbled off the field, then limped into the locker room after being examined in the medical tent. The Seahawks eventually ruled Darnold out with what they announced as a hip injury.
He was taken to Harborview Medical Center for testing during the game and stayed there overnight, in part because of how much discomfort he was in.
Darnold was not on the field Monday or Wednesday during the warmup period of Seahawks practice, which is all media members are allowed to view.
“He’s killing it on his rehab,” Macdonald said. “He’s going a great job. He’s doing a lot right now. He’s just not going to be able to play this week.”
Lock, who stepped in for Darnold and quarterbacked the Seahawks to a 13-10 win over the New England Patriots last Wednesday, is in line to make his first start since 2024.
The 29-year-old quarterback has a 10-18 career record as a starter since entering the league as a second-round pick by the Denver Broncos in 2019. He went 8-13 over three seasons with the Broncos before they dealt him to Seattle in the 2022 Russell Wilson trade. Lock went 1-1 for the Seahawks in 2023, then 1-4 for the New York Giants in 2024 before returning to Seattle last year to back up Darnold.
Against New England, Lock completed 16 of 22 passes for 187 yards, a touchdown and zero turnovers.
“Drew’s a proven, really good player in this league,” Macdonald said. “When he’s started, he’s played really good football. When he’s been on our team since I’ve seen him play in person, he’s [been] a heck of a player here. Heck of a guy. Heck of a teammate. He’s got a great balance about him of being a true professional, but also, he’s a loose and focused guy … All the things that we want from our players, he’s that at the quarterback position.”
Jalen Milroe, a 2025 second-round pick, is Seattle’s third quarterback. The team has yet to bring in another quarterback for a tryout. When asked if the Seahawks plan to add a another QB, Macdonald said they’re “going to roll with Drew and Jalen.”
In other Seahawks injury news, Macdonald said safety Nick Emmanwori (ankle) and wide receiver Tory Horton (hamstring) are practicing Wednesday. Both missed the opener.
“Those guys are doing great,” Macdonald said “They’re going to practice today and we’ll go from there.”
Macdonald said safety Ty Okada (hamstring) has a chance to play Sunday after missing Week 1.
