While the rest of the NFL finishes off Week 1, the Seattle Seahawks have spent their weekend working through just how long they’ll be without their starting quarterback, Sam Darnold.
There was apparent clarity on the injury early Sunday, with ESPN’s Ian Rapoport reporting that Darnold went down with a glute injury in the Seahawks’ opener against the New England Patriots. Later on Sunday, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reported that Darnold could miss up to four to six weeks with the injury, though
he won’t need surgery.
Florio added the Seahawks will be cautious with their starting quarterback, indicating the Seahawks feel comfortable competing with backup Drew Lock under center.
It’s worth noting that the report from PFT paints a grimmer picture than what Rapoport described earlier in the day. Rapoport said it’s a for-sure thing that the Seahawks will be without Darnold for Week 2, against the Arizona Cardinals. However, Rapoport left the door open for Darnold to return as early as Week 3, describing the injury as a “we’ll see” moment.
The Seahawks might be able to fend off the 1-0 Cardinals and 0-1 Washington Commanders without Darnold. But Week 4 against the Los Angeles Chargers starts a difficult stretch for the team that features the NFC West rival San Francisco 49ers in Week 5 and the Patrick Mahomes-led Kansas City Chiefs in Week 7.
With or without Darnold, Seattle will head to Glendale for a divisional showdown with the Cardinals next Sunday at 1:25 p.m. PDT.
