Seahawks QB Sam Darnold will miss game against Cardinals

by · The Seattle Times

RENTON — For the second time this season, the Seahawks will face Arizona with a backup quarterback under center after another injury to starter Sam Darnold.

Darnold will not play Sunday against Arizona because of a quadriceps injury suffered in the closing moments of the Monday night loss to Chicago.

Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said the plan is for Drew Lock to start against the Cardinals, although Lock is dealing with a right elbow injury that will limit the amount throws he can make in practice this week.

While the plan is to go with Lock, there is enough uncertainty about his elbow injury that Jalen Milroe will get first-team reps in practice this week.

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“He’s able to throw. How much? We’re working through that right now. That’s the best way to put it,” Macdonald said of Lock. “It’s a different injury than Sam had in the playoffs. He’s going to throw the ball throughout the week but we’re going to manage it. He’s not going to take 8,000 throws.”

Darnold was beat up coming out of the 34-17 loss and for the second time this season will miss a game because of injury. Darnold suffered a glute injury on the opening drive of the season opener against New England and missed the Week 2 game at Arizona before returning in Week 3.

Darnold was hurt on the opening drive of Monday’s game as well, although that’s not the injury that will sideline the QB this time.

Macdonald said Darnold suffered a cracked rib on the second offensive play of the game when he was hit on a blitz by former UW standout Kyler Gordon as he came off the edge unblocked. While Darnold was able to play the rest of the game despite the rib injury, it’s the quad issue that will keep him out for at least this week.

Macdonald believes the quad injury came on the final drive of the game.

“Playing the whole game without even making a thing of it, and playing his tail off and competing, I just think it’s worth noting how tough this guy is,” Macdonald said. “He’ll be back sooner than later, I’m sure.”

Darnold went 17 for 34 for 188 yards in the loss to the Bears. He was sacked three times, hit six times and seemed flustered for most of the night by the challenges presented from the Chicago defense.

Darnold also threw his ninth interception of the season, albeit on an odd deflection. The nine interceptions are tied for second-most in the NFL, one behind Justin Herbert of the Chargers. Darnold has thrown at least one interception in every game this season other than the opener when he threw just two passes.

Macdonald said the plan for now is not to place Darnold on injured reserve and there is a chance he could play next week at Las Vegas, as the belief is the rib injury can be managed well enough for Darnold to be on the field. The Seahawks have their bye after their game against the Raiders, followed by what’s shaping up to be a significant game at San Francisco on the final Sunday of November.

“Tough son of a gun. I mean, it’s kind of a testament to who he is,” right tackle Abe Lucas said of Darnold. “I mean, he’s always been that way and I don’t think he gets enough credit for that toughness, like physically and mentally.”

Lock has been the emergency quarterback the last two weeks after suffering a right elbow injury. Macdonald said Lock was hurt during a rainy practice a couple of weeks ago and has not done much throwing during that time.

There’s not a benchmark that Lock needs to hit this week to prove that he’s going to be able to make all the throws needed. But Milroe will get plenty of reps on the chance Lock’s elbow does not cooperate.

“There’s not like a line that we say, ‘OK, we got to hit the line and then we’re good.’ It’s like, let’s go through the process every day, let’s go re-evaluate and then we’ll go from there on where we are at,” Macdonald said. “At some point we have to make a decision on who is going to play, because the plan is for (Lock) to play, but it wouldn’t be fair to Jalen to go the whole week and tell him (Lock) can’t play. Jalen will need some of those reps, too.”

Lock played well in his two times on the field this season. He went 16 for 22 for 187 yards and a touchdown coming on in relief after Darnold was injured in the opener. The next week, Lock started his one game against the Cardinals where he threw for 235 yards and three touchdowns in the 31-7 victory.

Later Wednesday, the Seahawks did add another quarterback to the roster, signing Adrian Martinez to the practice squad. A former standout at Kansas State and past MVP of the United Football League, Martinez spent time with the Jets and 49ers over the past three seasons. He appeared in one game for one snap last season with San Francisco, but his familiarity with offensive coordinator Brian Fleury should help in picking up enough of Seattle’s system to potentially serve as the emergency third QB on Sunday.

The Seahawks also brought back linebacker Jamie Sheriff to the practice squad after he was cut at the end of training camp this past summer.

Notes

  • Left tackle Charles Cross (ankle), wide receiver Rashid Shaheed (knee) and defensive tackle Leonard Williams (stinger) have not been ruled out for this week’s game as of yet. Macdonald didn’t provide an update on any of the three but said all have a chance of playing.
  • Rookie running back Jadarian Price could be in for a bigger workload against Arizona, while Zach Charbonnet will probably still be limited in his snaps. Macdonald said there would be less snap restrictions on Price this week in his second game back from a chest/rib injury. Price played 30 snaps and Charbonnet 23 against the Bears.