Seattle will head into Sunday’s matchup with Arizona without Sam Darnold, and the Seahawks are already leaning on a familiar backup plan.
Head coach Mike Macdonald said Wednesday that Darnold will miss the game because of a quad injury suffered late in Monday night’s 34-17 loss to the Chicago Bears. Macdonald described the quarterback as “week to week” and said he will not be placed on injured reserve.
The injury report on Darnold got a little longer, too. Macdonald said he also cracked a rib on the opening series against Chicago.
“I mean, this guy, he’s tough as nails,” Macdonald said. “… He cracked his rib on the second play of the game, so playing the whole game without even making a name of it and playing his tail off and competing, I just think it’s worth noting how tough this guy is. And he’ll be back sooner than later, I’m sure.”
With Darnold sidelined, the Seahawks are planning to start Drew Lock against the Cardinals, with Jalen Milroe next up. Lock has been inactive for the past two games after suffering a right elbow injury in practice, though he served as the emergency third quarterback in both contests.
Macdonald said the team could also bring in another quarterback this week.
“Drew’s still working back from his elbow, so we’ll work through that process this week,” Macdonald said. “We’ll be getting both guys ready to play. We have full confidence in those guys, and we have a plan in place and we’ll go execute.”
Seattle will keep a close eye on Lock’s workload in practice.
“He’s gonna throw the ball throughout the week, but we’re gonna manage it,” Macdonald said. “He’s not gonna take 8,000 throws.”
Lock’s recent game action came earlier in the season, when Darnold left with a glute injury on the opening series. Lock wound up playing nearly the rest of Seattle’s first two games, completing 35 of 48 passes for 422 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. The Seahawks won those games, beating the New England Patriots 13-10 and the Cardinals 31-7.
Darnold, a Pro Bowler in each of the past two seasons, has not found the same rhythm this year. He has completed 60.2% of his passes for 1,478 yards, 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions, and Seattle has gone 2-4 since he returned in Week 3.
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