Sam Darnold Exits Seahawks Opener, Ruled Out With Hip Injury

SEATTLE, Wash. - Bringing a worst case scenario to life for the Seattle Seahawks as they begin their Super Bowl title defense, Sam Darnold exited the field after just one series in Wednesday’s season opener against the New England Patriots with a hip injury.

Moments before hitting halftime, Seattle announced Darnold would not be able to return to action as the team went into the break trailing 7-0. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, he will receive additional testing on his hip “off site.”

Replacing Darnold just one drive into the opener, Drew Lock took over at the 7:29 mark after the Seahawks’ defense forced a punt on their opening series. He completed six out of eight passes for 51 yards with a 91.1 passer rating.

After his first pass went for 13 yards to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Darnold uncorked an ugly incompletion and then found himself under duress on the ensuing third down. He managed to escape the initial blitzer with his eyes still scanning downfield, but as he tried to move to his left, he was dragged down by veteran defensive end Dre’Mont Jones for a drive-ending sack.

Darnold jogged gingerly off the field and initially grabbed a Microsoft tablet to look over the previous play, continuing to shake his right leg on the sideline. He then went to the blue injury tent and quickly was escorted by trainers into the locker room, with Seattle listing him as questionable to return at the six-minute mark in the first quarter.

Lock checked in for Seattle’s second series, completing his first throw to Smith-Njigba for eight yards while primarily handing the football off to George Holani and Jadarian Price. His first two series under center resulted in Michael Dickson punts with two first rounds coming via the run, and after a 21-yard completion to Smith-Njigba in the second quarter, tight end AJ Barner’s “Barn Yard” sneak was negated by an offensive offsides penalty, leading to another punt.

With Darnold not able to return to play, the Seahawks will have to roll with Lock unless the veteran signal caller suffers an injury himself, which would allow emergency quarterback Jalen Milroe to play if necessary. And unfortunately, the speculation will begin about how long he could potentially be out without specifics on the severity of the hip injury.