Sam Darnold’s setback in Seattle appears to be a glute injury, and the early read is that it could keep him out for two games.
ESPN’s Ian Rapoport reported that his understanding is the Seahawks quarterback will miss Week 2 against the Cardinals, with sources saying “we’ll see” about Week 3. Rapoport added that the likeliest timeline has Darnold sitting out two games before having a decent shot to return in Week 4. He also said the injury is muscular, and that it is a glute issue rather than a hip injury.
For Seattle, the encouraging part is what this does not seem to be. The team appears to have avoided a major injury to its starting quarterback.
In the meantime, Drew Lock stepped in and helped lead the Seahawks to a come-from-behind win over the Patriots. He would remain the starter as long as Darnold is sidelined.
The next stretch is a big one for Seattle, with games against the Cardinals, Commanders, Chargers and 49ers over the next four weeks. The first two are on the road, and the next two come at home.
Darnold, 28, entered the league as a first-round pick of the Jets in 2018. He was in the final year of his four-year, $30.370 million rookie deal when New York traded him to the Panthers.
Carolina picked up his fifth-year option for 2022 after the trade, and Darnold played that season on a base salary of $18.858 million.
He then became an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career and signed a one-year, $4.5 million contract with the 49ers in 2023. After that, he joined the Vikings on another one-year deal.
Darnold’s play in Minnesota put him back on the market as the top quarterback available in free agency, and Seattle gave him a three-year, $100 million contract.
In 2025, Darnold played in all 17 games for the Seahawks and completed 67.7 percent of his passes for 4,048 yards, 25 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He also ran 35 times for 95 yards.
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