The Seattle Seahawks are facing some late-week tension as they prepare for tonight’s Divisional Playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers. After a quiet bye week, starting quarterback Sam Darnold was added to the injury report on Thursday with an oblique injury he suffered during practice. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, he provided an update on X writing.

“Seahawks QB Sam Darnold hasn’t thrown a football since he hurt his oblique Thursday. The Seahawks believe, but don’t know, that he will be OK to start tonight’s game vs. the 49ers. Backup QB Drew Lock took the reps the past two days and is ready if needed.”

Starting quarterback Sam Darnold reported feeling a “twinge” in his side muscle while throwing during Thursday’s practice. To prevent the injury from getting worse, he stopped practicing early to get treatment. While the team is hopeful he can play, they won’t know for sure until shortly before the game begins.

If Darnold is unable to start, the Seahawks will turn to veteran backup Drew Lock. Lock has been preparing for this possibility by taking almost all the practice snaps over the last two days. Although he has been in the NFL for seven years, he has never played in a postseason game. This season, he has mostly stayed on the sidelines, appearing in only five games and throwing just three passes.

The Seahawks also have rookie Jalen Milroe as a third option. Milroe is a fast and athletic player, but he is very new to the professional level. He has only played three snaps all year, mostly as a runner. In one of those plays earlier this season, he accidentally fumbled the ball during an option play, so the team would likely only use him for very specific, short plays.

This game is particularly important because Darnold has had a difficult time against the 49ers‘ defense this year. In their two previous meetings, he didn’t throw a single touchdown or a single interception. So this will be his only chance this year to prove to the fans that he is capable of being a strong opponent against the 49ers.

The Seahawks are optimistic about their star QB’s return on Saturday

Despite a recent injury scare, the Seattle Seahawks remain positive as they prepare for their upcoming game. Head coach Mike Macdonald, who has had a very successful first year leading the team, spoke to reporters on Friday with a mix of care and confidence. He explained that while the team is being cautious, they are very hopeful that their starting quarterback will be able to play.

“We’re really optimistic he’s going to be able to play,” Macdonald said. “Right now we’re going through all the protocol, one, just out of caution to make sure we’re ready to go, and we’ll test it out tomorrow, kind of make the final decision. We’re optimistic he’s going to play. If he doesn’t or at some point he doesn’t, Drew [Lock] is ready to go. That’s why Drew is here. He’s doing a great job.”

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A final decision will be made on Saturday after one last physical test. Darnold also shared his side of the story, as he said,

“Kind of just felt a little something on that oblique, just didn’t want to push it. Wasn’t the day to push it, so that was it. So I just came inside, got some rehab, and feel like I’ll be ready to go for Saturday.” 

Darnold even said there is almost no chance he will miss the big game against the San Francisco 49ers, which was great news for fans hoping for a playoff win.

Even with all this optimism, the situation is still being watched closely. The Seahawks’ medical team plans to run more tests on Saturday morning, so we will have to wait to check out the final results.