The Seattle Seahawks have avoided the worst possible outcome with Sam Darnold, but they still don’t know when their starting quarterback will return. Darnold’s first diagnosis was concerning enough to make the Seahawks fear their season could change immediately. However, FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer provided a promising update on the nature of the injury and revealed the Seahawks are gathering several expert opinions to figure out their next steps.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
“Initially, they actually thought he fractured that hip socket, which would have put him out for the year. Instead, there is a tendon injury in the glute. They’re still trying to gather information,” Glazer said on FOX NFL Sunday.
Darnold went down five plays into Seattle’s 13-10 win over the New England Patriots on Wednesday. Patriots defensive end Dre’Mont Jones sacked him as he tried to escape the pocket; Darnold limped toward the sideline and was ruled out before halftime.
The fracture was eventually ruled out, but Seattle isn’t rushing to put a timetable on its quarterback.
“They’re gathering four second opinions to figure out exactly what the timetable will be, and what the plan of attack will be. He’s gonna miss next week, but we have no idea after that,” Glazer added.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport offered a similar outlook, reporting that Darnold is expected to miss Week 2 against the Arizona Cardinals. Rapoport said the quarterback could return in Week 3 against the Washington Commanders, although there is no firm timetable yet.
“My understanding is Sam Darnold is going to be out next week, and then we’ll see. So probably, a couple games was the description given to me. We will see if he’s able to get there for Week 3 against the Commanders,” Rapoport said on NFL GameDay Morning.
“We’ve been calling it a hip injury, but my understanding is it’s actually a glute injury. So Darnold hurt, he hurt his butt. It’s a muscular injury, not considered to be major.”
After Darnold’s injury, the Seahawks gave that role to an NFL veteran who entered his eighth season. Darnold completed only one of two passes for 13 yards before Drew Lock took over, and the backup helped turn a 10-0 deficit into a comeback victory. So, the Seahawks have some reason for optimism while they wait.
Lock finished 16-of-22 for 187 yards and a touchdown. Two fourth-quarter scoring drives helped Seattle escape with the win against a Patriots defense that had kept Darnold and the offense quiet early.
That performance becomes even more valuable with Darnold expected to miss at least one game. Seattle also has second-year quarterback Jalen Milroe available, though Lock entered the season as the primary backup.
Darnold’s absence still leaves a sizable hole. He threw for 4,048 yards and 25 touchdowns last season while leading Seattle to a franchise-record 14 wins and its first Super Bowl championship in a decade.
The schedule gives him some time to recover. Seattle visits the Cardinals on September 20 before facing Washington on September 27, leaving the door open for a possible Week 3 return.
For now, Lock has the keys to the offense. The Seahawks’ priority is finding out exactly how long Darnold will be away before deciding what comes next.