The Seattle Seahawks may very well have Sam Darnold ready to return to action after just one game missed.
Seattle’s starting quarterback was a full participant in Thursday’s practice, plus he had media availability, which is typically a positive sign toward playing for anyone who’s iffy due to injury. In Darnold’s case, he injured his glute just five plays into the opening game against the New England Patriots, and while the initial timeline ranged from a couple of weeks to over a month, there has
been more consistently positive messaging in the lead-up to this week regarding Darnold’s health.
“Feeling good,” Darnold said on Thursday prior to practice. “For me, especially during this week, taking it day-by-day. Continuing to balance the reps and do everything I need to get ready.”
“I’m striving for [playing on Sunday],” he added. “I’m taking it day-by-day. Also, don’t want to jinx anything.”
Drew Lock deputized extremely well for Darnold in Seattle’s 31-7 win over the Arizona Cardinals, throwing three touchdown passes to Jaxon Smith-Njigba while only suffering one sack and zero turnovers. It seems as if he won’t be needed to start as often as originally thought, but we’ll see how Friday goes.
While Darnold looks like he’s another practice away from coming back, there is one concerning name who’s been added to the injury report. Safety Julian Love, who practiced on Wednesday, was a DNP for Thursday with a calf injury. That is worth monitoring for Friday’s game designations, especially as Ty Okada is still a DNP with his hamstring issue. Seattle has Rodney Thomas II and A.J. Finley as available backups, and now it’s possible both could be pressed into starting duties. Maxen Hook and D’Anthony Bell are also available off the practice/ready squad.
Here’s the full Seahawks injury report for Thursday. All things considered, only Love, Brandon Pili, and Jadarian Price are clear question marks for Sunday.
