Jalen Milroe may be getting his first real shot in Seattle sooner than expected.
With Sam Darnold ruled out because of a quad and rib injury, the Seahawks are heading into Week 9 against the Arizona Cardinals with a quarterback situation that could put Milroe in line for his first career start. Drew Lock is the next man up for now, but he was limited in practice earlier in the week because of a right elbow injury that has bothered him for the past couple of weeks.
That leaves Seattle with a real possibility of turning to Milroe.
The second-year quarterback arrived with plenty of buzz after his Alabama days, and the Seahawks viewed him as a possible franchise answer if Darnold didn’t pan out. He didn’t get on the field at all last season because Darnold was playing at a high level, but the combination of injuries and uneven quarterback play has now opened the door.
Milroe’s preseason didn’t exactly announce him as ready-made, even though he flashed in practice early in camp. The games were a different story. Still, he finished the preseason finale against the Kansas City Chiefs by showing the kind of upside that made Seattle spend a Day 2 pick on him last year.
“I thought there was a lot of good stuff,” Macdonald said after the preseason in August.
“He made some really good throws on time, went through his progressions. We go back to the ball.
I think that’s pretty obvious leaving the field. I thought the guy made some really cool plays around the game.
Stuff that we can build on moving forward. Of course there’s things that we want to get better at and put up more points and all that type of stuff, but definitely a good foundation moving forward.”
Seattle may not have planned on needing Milroe this soon, but he has reportedly been staying loose and ready in case his number gets called. Sunday could be that moment.
The Cardinals and Seahawks kick off Sunday at 1:25 pm PT at Lumen Field. The game will air on FOX and can also be streamed on the Fox One app.
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