Seahawks confirm QB Sam Darnold will miss Week 2 due to injury

The Seattle Seahawks will go to the desert without Sam Darnold as their quarterback.

There’s reason for optimism with Lock as Seattle Seahawks QB

Head coach Mike Macdonald confirmed Wednesday that Darnold, Seattle’s Super Bowl-winning starting QB, will be out for Sunday’s Week 2 road game against the Arizona Cardinals due to a glute injury suffered in a Week 1 win over the New England Patriots.

That’s the bad news. But the good news is Macdonald said he doesn’t anticipate the team putting Darnold on injured reserve, which would rule him out for four weeks. That leaves the door open for Darnold to return perhaps even for Seattle’s Week 3 game at Washington on Sunday, Sept. 27, which would be 18 days after he was injured.

Macdonald confirmed the Seahawks will start Drew Lock against the Cardinals, with second-year QB Jalen Milroe serving as the backup.

The 29-year-old Darnold was injured on the first offensive series of the season for the Seahawks. It was initially termed a hip injury, and Darnold was ruled out for the remainder of the Sept. 9 game against the Patriots as he headed to the hospital for testing.

On Tuesday, ESPN and NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport told The Pat McAfee Show that “there’s at least a chance” Darnold plays in Week 3 against the Commanders. That came a day after the Seahawks announced that Darnold has a “unique” and “short-term” soft-tissue injury in his glute, and that his hip joint was unaffected.

Lock, also 29, is set to make his 29th career NFL start and third for the Seahawks. He started two games as Seattle’s QB in place of an injured Geno Smith in 2023.

A second-round NFL Draft pick by Denver in 2019, Lock started 21 of 24 games in his first three pro seasons with the Broncos. He was dealt to Seattle in the 2022 Russell Wilson trade and served as Smith’s backup for two seasons, then started five games and appeared in eight games total in 2024 with the New York Giants. The Seahawks brought Lock back ahead of the 2025 season to serve as the backup for Darnold, who had been signed by Seattle earlier in free agency after a Pro Bowl season with the Minnesota Vikings.

Lock completed 16 of 22 passes for 187 yards, a touchdown and no turnovers to lead the Seahawks over the Patriots 13-10 in Week 1.

The 23-year-old Milroe was drafted in the third round out of Alabama by the Seahawks in 2025. He typically is designated the emergency third quarterback for Seattle, but did appear in three games last season.

The Seahawks face the Cardinals at 1:25 p.m. on Sunday, with Seahawks Radio Network coverage on Seattle Sports starting at 10 a.m. with the pregame show.

Seattle Seahawks news and more

• Daniel Jeremiah: Seahawks’ defense looks even better
• The LA Rams’ depth is ‘not close’ to the Seahawks
• The keys to Seattle Seahawks winning without Sam Darnold

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