Seahawks Unexpectedly Rule Out Sam Darnold for Cardinals Rematch
Out of the blue, the Seahawks will have to prepare on a short week for a must-win NFC West rematch with the Cardinals minus their starting quarterback, who suffered multiple injuries in Monday’s loss to the Bears.
Suffering their fourth defeat in six games at the hands of the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football, the Seattle Seahawks didn’t simply lose on the scoreboard, as they will now have to go at least one week without their starting quarterback.
As announced by Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald prior to Wednesday’s practice, Sam Darnold will not play in Sunday’s upcoming NFC West rematch against the Cardinals due to a quad injury. Returning from his own elbow injury, Drew Lock will make his second start of the season in Darnold’s place, making his second start against Arizona this year, while Jalen Milroe will get some reps during the practice week.
"It's going to be week to week for Sam,“ Macdonald said. “He's not going to go on (injured reserve)."
Darnold also fractured a rib, per Macdonald, an injury he was not aware of during the heat of the game. But the quad injury appears to be the one with the most significance for his lack of availability in Week 9.
Coming off leading Seattle to a Super Bowl victory in February, Darnold has endured a challenging second season with the franchise, both physically and performance-wise. He left the season opener just six snaps into the game with a glute injury and missed the following game with Lock filling in admirably in Arizona, throwing a trio of touchdowns in a 31-7 victory.
Since coming back from that injury in Week 3, Darnold has been dogged by turnovers. He has thrown nine interceptions in the past six games and has been picked the second-most among quarterbacks in the NFL so far.
With those struggles, Macdonald faced questions about Darnold’s job status after throwing two picks in a loss to the Broncos in Week 6, but the coach backed the veteran gunslinger and didn’t consider benching him for Lock. He played much better in a Week 7 win over the Chiefs, only to take a big step back against the Bears swarming defense completing just 53% of his passes and throwing a critical interception late in the fourth quarter that all but sealed defeat.
Now, Darnold’s troubles have only been magnified by multiple new injuries, creating another problem for the Seahawks to try and solve on the fly with the team currently reeling at the .500 mark. And his latest absence could potentially invite more controversy if Lock plays well in his stead under center once again.
But for now, Seattle will have approach this situation one game at a time, as it remains to be seen if Darnold will need to miss more than one game with multiple ailments.
