{"id":1007342,"date":"2026-09-22T03:12:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T03:12:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/1007342\/"},"modified":"2026-09-22T03:12:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T03:12:15","slug":"seahawks-expect-qb-sam-darnold-to-be-back-at-practice-this-week-wtop-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/1007342\/","title":{"rendered":"Seahawks expect QB Sam Darnold to be back at practice this week \u2013 WTOP News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Seattle Seahawks<\/a> coach Mike Macdonald expects Sam Darnold to return to practice this week, but the quarterback\u2019s status for this weekend\u2019s game against the Washington Commanders remains uncertain.<\/p>\n

Darnold sustained a glute injury on the first series of Seattle\u2019s season opener against the New England Patriots. Drew Lock took over and helped the Seahawks to a 13-10 victory<\/a>, then started Sunday\u2019s 31-7 victory<\/a> over the Arizona Cardinals.<\/p>\n

There was no timeline announced for Darnold\u2019s return, but it appeared he could be back soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, the plan is for him to be out there in some capacity and we\u2019ll go from there,\u201d Macdonald said Monday. \u201cHow much? We\u2019ll see from here to Wednesday on what that number is but right now that\u2019s the goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lock completed 19 of 26 passes for 235 yards and three touchdowns \u2014 all to Jaxon Smith-Njigba \u2014 against the Cardinals.<\/p>\n

As of Monday, the Seahawks hadn\u2019t determined how much work Darnold would get in practice ahead of the game at Washington.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously this week is a little bit different with Sam\u2019s situation being a little more up in the air going throughout the week,\u201d Macdonald said. \u201cSo this is a little different approach in terms of our process about how we\u2019ll handle our preparation throughout the week.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the opener, Lock went 16 of 22 for 187 yards and a touchdown, also to Smith-Njigba. Lock has not committed a turnover.<\/p>\n

Macdonald said the transition to Lock has been smooth. The 29-year-old has mostly served as a backup since 2021 and saw little action last season as Darnold led Seattle to the Super Bowl title.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t sense much difference in the attitude or the emotion of the team last week. Which is a tremendous compliment to Drew. The things he\u2019s been able to do, day-in and day-out, the types of practices and type of football he\u2019s played out on the practice field throughout training camp, throughout his opportunities in the preseason, I sense a lot of confidence in what he brings to the table,\u201d Macdonald said.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s working<\/p>\n

While the connection between Lock and Smith-Njigba has sparked the offense, Seattle\u2019s defense has remained its biggest strength.<\/p>\n

Seattle shut down Arizona\u2019s run game, with rookie Jeremiyah Love managing just 29 yards on nine carries, and pressured quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who finished 17 of 28 for 95 yards and a touchdown. The Cardinals were held to 151 yards of total offense. The Seahawks have never lost when holding an opponent to 151 yards or fewer.<\/p>\n

What needs help<\/p>\n

The Seahawks\u2019 tight end play could use a boost. AJ Barner had one catch for 8 yards and ran for a 1-yard touchdown. Veteran Eric Saubert had a catch for a loss of 10 yards. <\/p>\n

Stock up<\/p>\n

Emanuel Wilson gained 92 yards on 21 carries, a 4.4-yard average. He was especially effective in the second half, with 15 carries for 71 yards.<\/p>\n

Injuries<\/p>\n

DL Brandon Pili suffered a concussion against the Cardinals. RB Jadarian Price left in the second half with a chest injury, but X-rays were negative. Price ran for 52 yards on 13 carries before he was hurt. <\/p>\n

Key number<\/p>\n

12 \u2014 Seattle\u2019s current winning streak, including playoffs. That\u2019s the longest in franchise history.<\/p>\n

Next steps<\/p>\n

The Seahawks visit the Commanders and backup quarterback Marcus Mariota. Jayden Daniels is out<\/a> with an elbow injury.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

\n See AP\u2019s full NFL coverage here<\/a>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald expects Sam Darnold to return to practice this week, but the quarterback\u2019s status…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1007343,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2069],"tags":[427,7,6,855,111,2480],"class_list":["post-1007342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-washington-commanders","tag-commanders","tag-football","tag-nfl","tag-washington","tag-washington-commanders","tag-washingtoncommanders"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/117312509978598534","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1007342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1007342"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1007342\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1007343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1007342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1007342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1007342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}