The Seahawks got the answer they were waiting for on Sam Darnold, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba seemed to give it away before the team made it official.
Darnold is set to return to Seattle’s starting lineup Sunday against the 0-2 Washington Commanders after missing last week’s game with a glute injury. What initially looked like a serious setback in the season-opening Super Bowl rematch against the New England Patriots turned out to be far less severe, and Darnold was back on the practice field this week.
His workload ramped up as the week went on. He was limited Wednesday, then practiced fully Thursday and Friday. By the time Seattle released its final injury report, Darnold was a full participant Friday and carried no game designation.
Still, before the Seahawks formally announced anything, Smith-Njigba appeared to tip the news on Friday during an appearance on the Rich Eisen Show.
“I feel pretty good, and we get to have Sam Darnold back, so I’m excited to show out each and every week,” Smith-Njigba said during a Friday appearance on the Rich Eisen Show.
Eisen pressed him immediately to confirm whether Darnold would be available in Week 3. Smith-Njigba didn’t exactly shut the door. He looked away from the camera, smiled, flashed two thumbs up and said, “He looks good out there, I’ll say that.”
NFL teams usually guard these kinds of details tightly, but this one didn’t stay hidden for long. The Seahawks now head into Sunday as big favorites against Washington, a team that will be missing star quarterback Jayden Daniels and several other starters in Week 3.
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For a defense that has talked about needing to create more disruption, this matchup offers a chance to help change the tone. The Seahawks bring their own uncertainty at quarterback because of Sam Darnolds injury, which gives Washington an opening to lean on pressure, chase turnovers and maybe finally give the home crowd something to build around. [Read more 🡒]