The Seattle Seahawks expect quarterback Sam Darnold to participate in practice Wednesday as he recovers from a glute injury.
Darnold suffered what the Seahawks called a “unique” soft-tissue injury on the fifth play of the season Sept. 9 against the New England Patriots. Seattle said it was expected to be a short-term injury, and Darnold sat out Sunday’s 31-7 Week 2 win at Arizona.
Darnold was not placed on short-term injured reserve, and there’s now a chance he could be back in the fold as soon as Week 3 against the Washington Commanders. Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald indicated as much during a weekly radio appearance Monday.
“Right now, the plan is for him to be out there in some capacity, and we’ll go from there,” Macdonald told reporters later Monday. “How much, we’ll see from here to Wednesday on what that number is. But right now, that’s the goal.”
Drew Lock led the Seahawks to wins over the Patriots and Cardinals. He’s passed for 422 yards and four touchdowns, with no interceptions, in that time.
But Macdonald dismissed the notion that Lock’s strong play could create a quarterback controversy.
“If Sam can play, he’s going to play,” Macdonald said.
Darnold, 29, has thrown for 20,444 yards, 123 touchdowns and 82 interceptions in his 101 career games (91 starts) for five teams since entering the league with the New York Jets in 2018. He racked up 4,048 yards with 25 touchdowns and 14 picks last season, his first in Seattle, before guiding the Seahawks to their second Super Bowl victory.
Macdonald also said rookie running back Jadarian Price’s shoulder injury “shouldn’t be a long-term thing” after the first-round pick left the Arizona game in the fourth quarter.
