PHOENIX - Sam Darnold may be headed back onto the practice field this week, but the Seahawks aren’t rushing to slam the door on Drew Lock.
Seattle is planning for Darnold to practice Wednesday, four days before the 2-0 Seahawks visit the Washington Commanders, according to coach Mike Macdonald. Darnold has been out since the fifth play of the season opener Sept. 9, when Dre’Mont Jones dragged him down from behind and he strained his glute.
“Right now, the plan is for him to be out there in some capacity, and we’ll go from there,” Macdonald said Monday afternoon. “How much?
We’ll see on what that number (of practice reps) is. But right now, that’s the goal.”
That setup points to Darnold and Lock splitting first-team work during the week, with Seattle adjusting its preparation around the quarterback situation.
“Obviously, this week is a little bit different. Sam’s situation being a little bit more up throughout the week,” Macdonald said. “So this is a little bit of different approach in terms of our process about how we’ll handle our preparation throughout the week.”
If Darnold responds well to practice Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, he could be available Sunday at Washington. The bigger question is whether that should be the plan at all, because Lock has given Seattle every reason to keep riding the hot hand.
The veteran backup has been excellent in 7 1/2 quarters since taking over. He helped drag the Seahawks back from a 10-0 deficit against New England in the opener, then delivered another sharp performance Sunday in Arizona. Lock completed 19 of 26 passes in Seattle’s 31-7 win over the Cardinals, throwing three more touchdowns to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and helping fuel a 24-0 second half.
“It was awesome,” Lock said after the win. “Felt really good.
“It was a complete game.”
Through two games, Lock is 35 of 48 for 422 yards and four touchdowns. His passer rating of 127.3 was the best in the NFL among quarterbacks who had played two games entering Monday night, and his 72.9% completion rate ranked fourth among that group. He also hasn’t turned the ball over, which has fit perfectly with the Seahawks’ formula.
That formula starts on defense. Seattle has allowed just 17 points total through two games, second-best in the league behind New England’s 16.
The Seahawks have been dominant against the run, top 10 in rushing defense, and they held Jacoby Brissett to 95 passing yards in Arizona. The Cardinals managed only four first downs over the final three quarters, including one by penalty and another in garbage time on the game’s next-to-last play.
Arizona totaled 44 yards on 14 plays after halftime.
With the defense playing at that level, the Seahawks have every chance to keep extending their team-record 12-game winning streak if the quarterback protects the football.
“Our defense,” Lock said, chuckling, “is very good.”
Seattle’s opponent this week enters 0-2, with losses at Philadelphia, 24-22, and at Dallas, 37-20. The Commanders will also be without starting quarterback Jayden Daniels, who dislocated his elbow in the loss to the Cowboys. Dan Quinn told reporters Monday that Marcus Mariota will start against the Seahawks.
Macdonald said Seattle’s plan for Darnold will depend on how he looks and feels once the work starts.
Seattle is also monitoring rookie lead running back Jadarian Price, whose shoulder injury produced negative X-rays, according to Macdonald. “Something we will monitor throughout the week. Shouldn’t be a long-term thing.”
Macdonald still wasn’t ready to hand out any gold stars, even after back-to-back strong showings.
“My first reaction is that it’s early and there’s a lot of great stuff on tape from the first two weeks in the run game. And there’s some stuff where, ‘Hey man, we can take it to another level on how we play things,’” Macdonald said.
“My other reaction is, we have great players.”
In Other News...
Former Seahawks Receiver Is Suddenly Becoming A Raiders Talking Point
Cody White has gone from a familiar name in Seattle to an unexpectedly useful piece for Las Vegas, and his latest outing only added to the attention. Elevated from the Raiders practice squad shortly before the game, the former Seahawks receiver made his presence felt on offense and on special teams, giving Las Vegas a steady lift in a spot where the team was clearly looking for someone to step forward.
For Seahawks fans, the interesting part is not just Whites production, but how quickly he has become part of a broader Raiders trend. Head coach Klint Kubiak has brought in multiple former Seattle players, and Whites recent two-touchdown game is the kind of performance that tends to keep a players name circulating well beyond one Sunday. The bigger question is how much of this is a one-week surge, and how much is the start of a larger role. [Read more 🡒]
Sean Payton Nearly Turned Seahawks Scouting Into A Week 6 Feud
Mike Macdonalds first season in Seattle had an unexpected subplot well beyond the usual chess match of NFL coaching. In a recent interview, the Seahawks coach said Broncos head coach Sean Payton threatened to go public with accusations that Seattle had engaged in a Spygate-like cheating scheme after the Seahawks used publicly available fan-recorded training camp video to study Denver.
The issue never became a formal scandal because the Seahawks pushed back and were prepared to respond legally, and Payton ultimately backed off. Even so, the episode adds another layer to the leagues long memory of sign-stealing disputes, and it shows how something as ordinary as publicly accessible practice footage can still set off a tense standoff between two veteran coaching staffs. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Week 2 Win May Have Changed More Than Fans Realize
The Seahawks Week 2 comeback in Arizona did more than add another win to the ledger. After a sluggish opening, Seattle found its rhythm and piled up 24 points in the second half, with contributions from across the roster helping turn a shaky afternoon into a strong finish. Christian Haynes settled in nicely at right guard, while safety Julian Love kept making plays that mattered when the game was still hanging in the balance.
Seattle also came out of the game with some roster questions still lingering. Injuries and uneven performances affected a few players, including rookie running back Jadarian Price and wide receiver Rashid Shaeed, and the team could be looking at changes as it turns to Week 3. For a Seahawks group still sorting out who can be trusted in key spots, the performance in Arizona may prove to be as important for what it revealed as for the win itself. [Read more 🡒]