Good news! The Seattle Seahawks only have two players on the active roster with a game designation status for Saturday’s NFC Divisional Round battle with the San Francisco 49ers.
Bad news! Starting quarterback
Sam Darnold is one of those two players.
Yes, out of nowhere there is some doubt that Darnold will be able to play this weekend. Darnold hurt his left oblique during practice, and now he’s questionable. Don’t totally fret, for Darnold believes that he’s much more likely than not to be out there.
Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak confirmed that backup Drew Lock took some first-team reps with Darnold limited. Lock’s first Seahawks start, coincidentally, came against the 49ers back in 2023. Any injury notes will be addressed by head coach Mike Macdonald on Friday.
The only Seahawk ruled out for Saturday is backup left tackle Josh Jones, who didn’t practice at all this week with a knee injury. He was Charles Cross’ replacement for the team’s final three regular season games when Cross hurt his hamstring. Cross was a full participant on Friday after limited reps on Wednesday due to a knee injury.
Everyone else on the active roster is good to go, so that’s great news apart from any uneasiness over Darnold’s health. Elijah Arroyo and Chazz Surratt are both out but are otherwise on injured reserve, so it looks like the Seahawks aren’t ready to activate either one of them yet.
As for the 49ers, safety Ji’Ayir Brown is out and will presumably be replaced by rookie Marques Sigle, while Trent Williams is all systems go. Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall is among four players questionable. Fred Warner won’t play, as expected.
