When Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold went down early in the season-opening Super Bowl rematch against the New England Patriots, it looked as if he’d suffered a significant injury. Fortunately, the news was much better: Darnold was dealing only with a glute injury. He missed last week’s game.
Darnold is back. He practiced this week, and on Seattle’s final injury report, Darnold was a full participant for Friday’s practice and was not listed with a game designation. Darnold will return to the starting lineup for Sunday’s Week 3 game against the 0-2 Washington Commanders.
When Darnold returned to practice Wednesday in limited capacity, it was clear that Seattle believed he could play in Week 3 at Washington. He practiced fully on Thursday
and Friday. But before the Seahawks officially revealed that Darnold would play against the Commanders, star wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba apparently let it slip that Darnold would play against Washington.
“I feel pretty good, and we get to have Sam Darnold back, so I’m excited to show out each and every week,” Smith-Njigba said during a Friday appearance on the Rich Eisen Show.
💻 @jaxon_smith1
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) September 25, 2026
Is Sam Darnold returning to action this week?#NFL #Seahawks pic.twitter.com/k58qokUJ7o
Eisen quickly followed up by asking Smith-Njigba if Darnold was indeed playing in Week 3. Smith-Njigba then looked away from the camera and didn’t confirm the news, instead giving two thumbs up with a smile and saying, “He looks good out there, I’ll say that.”
NFL teams love keeping schemes and roster decisions close to the vest. On Friday, Smith-Njigba let it slip. The Seahawks are big favorites against the Commanders, who’ll be without star quarterback Jayden Daniels and several other starters in Week 3.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Seahawks' Jaxon Smith-Njigba breaks big news for Week 3 vs Commanders
