After a hot start, disaster struck early for the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. After ripping off a pair of big gains on the ground, a penalty helped set up a third down on their opening drive against the New England Patriots. That gave the Pats the chance to blitz, and with his options covered downfield Sam Darnold's escape was cut short from behind by Dre'Mont Jones.
That sent Darnold to the blue injury tent with a minor limp, then to the locker room with a more noticeable one. His status to return is questionable due to a hip issue.
Losing the quarterback who staved off a rebuild and delivered a second Super Bowl banner to Seattle is a big problem. While the Seahawks have a backup with starting experience behind him, his resume
doesn't inspire confidence.
Who is Drew Lock, Seattle's QB2?
Lock came into the 2019 NFL Draft with first round hype, but slipped to the second round where a needy Denver Broncos team snapped him up. He showed some promise as a rookie, going 4-1 as a starter but averaging only 6.5 yards per attempt and throwing only seven touchdowns in that stretch.
That wasn't enough to dissuade the Broncos, who were trapped in post-Peyton Manning quarterback limbo. He began 2020 as the team's starter -- a season in which he led the league in interceptions. He went 3-13 his final two years in Denver, which forced the franchise to make a big swing.
Lock was one of the pieces shipped to Seattle in the Broncos' ill-fated Russell Wilson trade. He didn't play in 2022, made a pair of spot starts in 2023 and spent 2024 with the New York Giants... where he was outplayed by undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito. He returned to the Seahawks before the 2025 season, where he played 38 snaps and collected a Super Bowl ring.
Since 2019, 50 quarterbacks have played at least 1,000 NFL regular season snaps. Lock's 0.022 expected points added (EPA) per dropback ranks 44th. That's behind Carson Wentz, Taylor Heinicke and Gardner Minshew and ahead of guys like Justin Fields, Kenny Pickett and Davis Mills. While he's got a big arm, history suggests he'll be an ineffective fill-in the longer he's in the lineup.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Who is Sam Darnold's backup after Week 1 injury?
