The Seahawks already showed they can win without Sam Darnold and they will have to attempt to do so again for at least one more week.
Darnold is expected to miss Week 2 with the hip injury he suffered on the fifth play of the season-opening 13-10 win over the Patriots on Wednesday, according to NFL Network.
Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said Friday he has not been told definitely yet if Darnold will miss the Week 2 road game against Arizona, but he’s “kind of thinking” Drew Lock will be under center.
Darnold will return “sooner rather than later,” according to ESPN, with Darnold having 17 days to recover before a Week 3 road game against Washington.
“The hip is intact and it’s good and it’s more of a like a muscle thing,” Macdonald said Thursday on his weekly radio show on Seattle Sports 710 AM. “So, that’s good news.
“Now, how long that is, we don’t know yet. But really, really good news, so we’re really happy for Sam, that’s good. But it is painful, I know it hasn’t been an easy night for him.”
While losing Darnold for a minimum of one game isn’t a perfect-case scenario, it lands in the “good news” spectrum after the worst could have been feared when he exited Wednesday’s game on the first drive.
Dre’Mont Jones sacked Darnold for a five-yard loss to end the first drive, and Darnold clearly seemed in pain and did not return to the field.
Lock replaced him on the next drive before Darnold would be ruled out later in the first half.
Testing ruled out a fractured hip and he had been set for an MRI on Friday.
Darnold spent the night in a local hospital, according to ESPN.
Lock played well in relief of Darnold, pioneering the come-from-behind win after trailing 10-0 in the third quarter against the reigning AFC champions.
He completed 16 of 22 passes for 187 yards with one touchdown, leading the team to three straight scoring drives on their final three full possessions to stun New England.
Lock is 10-18 as a starter, having last started in 2024 for the Giants.
“We have a ton of faith in Drew and the guys do too,” Macdonald said. “You can see it by the way they played and the way we called the game. He just did a tremendous job coming in and executing.”
