Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said Friday that they’re “really optimistic” quarterback Sam Darnold is going to play in Saturday’s divisional-round playoff game versus the San Francisco 49ers, despite an oblique injury that came about in practice Thursday.

Darnold is still listed as “questionable” for the highly anticipated rematch between NFC West rivals.

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Macdonald said that Darnold feels better a day removed from pain popping up and explained that he will test things out Saturday before a final decision is made.

Macdonald didn’t disclose whether Darnold threw during the team’s walkthrough Friday.

The second-year Seahawks coach was asked if the oblique issue could limit the way Darnold plays.

“Well, yeah, that’s a possibility,” Macdonald said. “I think right now he’s confident that he’s going to be able to go do his thing at 100%, and we are, too. But with these things, something could change between now and then or something could happen in-game. So kind of just have to roll with it.”

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Macdonald clarified, however, that the Seahawks won’t put Darnold out there if he’s not fit to do his job.

Drew Lock is Seattle’s backup. He’s appeared in five games this season but attempted only three passes. A 2019 second-round pick out of Missouri, Lock has started 28 games in his career, including two for the Seahawks during the 2023 season.

Darnold told reporters he felt something in his oblique early in practice Thursday when throwing routes.

“Just didn’t want to push it. It wasn’t the day to push it,” Darnold said, per Gregg Bell of The Tacoma News Tribune. “So that was it. Just came inside, got some rehab. I feel like I’ll be ready to go for Saturday.”

Darnold said he never had oblique issues before. He put a positive spin on the midweek hurdle that he’s eager to clear ahead of the biggest game of his career.

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“It’s fun. We’ll attack it the next couple days and be ready to go for Saturday,” Darnold added.

Darnold, a righty, explained at the time that he experienced the discomfort on his left side on a throw.

He was asked what percent of him thinks he might not play against the 49ers this weekend at Seattle’s Lumen Field.

“Very low percentage,” he said Thursday. “Probably closer to zero.”

Darnold played all 17 games in the regular season, his first with the Seahawks after signing a three-year deal reportedly worth $100.5 million.

He picked up where he left off in Minnesota last season when he led the Vikings to a 14-3 record as a replacement for the injured J.J. McCarthy.

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This time around, he became the fourth quarterback in NFL history to guide two different teams to 14-win seasons, joining Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Jared Goff.

Despite a league-high 20 turnovers, Darnold made the Pro Bowl. With a win over San Francisco in the regular-season finale, Seattle earned the division title and the NFC’s No. 1 seed, which came with a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Darnold is now slated to face the resilient 49ers again. He’s hoping for playoff redemption after throwing a pick, losing a fumble and being sacked nine times during the Vikings’ 27-9 wild-card loss to the Los Angeles Rams last season.