The reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks will have to survive some heavy midseason adversity if they want a legit chance to defend their title. You see, the Seahawks are visiting the Las Vegas Raiders as Fernando Mendoza makes his NFL debut on Sunday, but they'll be doing so without arguably their most important player.
I'm talking, of course, about starting quarterback Sam Darnold. The veteran quarterback is currently dealing with quad and rib injuries that already saw him miss Seattle's win over the rival Arizona Cardinals last Sunday. With an important stretch run ahead of the Seahawks in the late stages of the season, head coach Mike Macdonald is playing the long game and holding Darnold out for the Raiders game right before Seattle goes
to a Week 11 bye.
It's a smart move to let Darnold recover as much as possible, provided backup Drew Lock can continue holding down the fort:
Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald told @BrockHuard and @TheMikeSalk on Seattle Sports 710 ESPN that he is ruling out Sam Darnold for this week’s game vs the Raiders. But tests on Drew Lock’s oblique injury were “good”, and they believe he can start vs. the Raiders. pic.twitter.com/mba3rSJrZt
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 9, 2026
As for when Darnold might come back, the Seahawks haven't given much indication that Darnold's injuries are serious. Missing two November games right before a bye seems purely proactive for his health over a long season for the offensive signal-caller. I would personally be surprised if Darnold isn't ready to go for a Week 12 matchup on Sunday, November 29th against the San Francisco 49ers. That's an important divisional game between two of the NFC's best teams when ... everyone is healthy.
That's the key distinction there: When everyone is healthy. The Seahawks need Darnold healthy to put up a real fight against one of their biggest rivals in the NFC West.
The Seahawks are deep and well-coached enough to survive two rebuilding teams without Darnold. We'll see whether they hold serve before he probably comes back in late November.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: When will Sam Darnold come back to the Seahawks?
