According to Adam Schefter, the Seahawks are reviewing the results of QB Sam Darnold‘s MRI to determine how much time he will miss.
One source told Schefter they “dodged a bullet” with Darnold and avoided a more serious injury but he will still probably be sidelined for some amount of time.
Ian Rapoport reports Darnold will miss next week but could be back sooner rather than later, with Rapoport saying it could be just a few weeks. The long break before Week 2 after playing Wednesday helps Seattle here.
Dr. David Chao said a good outcome would be a short-term stay on injured reserve, with Darnold coming back in Week 6, perhaps even less. He says there could be nerve damage, which wouldn’t show up on an MRI, or damage to Darnold’s hip labrum or a bone bruise to the wall of the hip socket.
Darnold was forced from Wednesday’s season open after being tackled by Patriot defenders. He was later ruled out for the game.
Drew Lock took over for the Seahawks and led them to a come-from-behind win over the Patriots. He’d start for as long as Darnold is out.
Seattle takes on the Cardinals, Commanders, Chargers and 49ers in the next four weeks, first two on the road, second two at home.
Darnold, 28, is a former first-round pick of the Jets back in 2018. He was in the final year of a four-year, $30.370 million rookie contract when he was traded to the Panthers.
Carolina exercised Darnold’s fifth-year option for 2022 after acquiring him from New York. He made a base salary of $18.858 million in 2022 under the option.
Darnold was an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career when he signed a one-year, $4.5 million deal with the 49ers in 2023. He joined the Vikings this past on a one-year deal.
After elevating his play with the Vikings, Darnold was the best quarterback available in free agency and signed a three-year, $100 million deal with Seattle.
In 2025, Darnold appeared in all 17 games for the Seahawks and completed 67.7 percent of his pass attempts for 4,048 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. He added 35 carries for 95 yards.
We’ll have more on Darnold and the Seahawks as the news is available.
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