Bump: Darnold should remain Seahawks’ starting quarterback

After another turnover-free performance from Drew Lock, the Seattle Seahawks quarterback discourse continues to heat up.

Seahawks expect Drew Lock to start at QB vs Raiders

With starter Sam Darnold sidelined by a quad injury, Lock completed 19 of 28 passes for 175 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions in Seattle’s 17-3 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Lock did so while battling through an elbow injury to this throwing arm that’s been reported as “severe tendinitis,” along with an oblique injury he sustained in the third quarter.

In nearly three full games of fill-in duty this season, Lock has completed 71.1% of his passes for 597 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions while helping the Seahawks go 3-0.

Meanwhile, Darnold has completed just 60.3% of his passes for 1,465 yards, 10 TDs and nine interceptions in his six full games from Weeks 3-8. Seattle went just 2-4 over that stretch.

However, Seahawks Radio Network analyst and former NFL wide receiver Michael Bumpus still believes Darnold should be the QB1 when he returns from his latest injury.

“At some point, your quarterback is gonna have to go against a good defense and go for 350 and three touchdowns and maybe one interception,” Bumpus said Monday on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy.

“Is Drew Lock capable of that? Maybe. Have we seen that from Drew Lock? Negative. Have we seen it from Sam? Yes, we have.”

‘Sam won you a Super Bowl’

Darnold, a Pro Bowler each of the past two years, helped lead the Seahawks to a franchise-best 14-3 campaign and a Super Bowl title last season. He finished eighth in the NFL in completion rate (67.7%), fifth in passing yards (4,048), tied for ninth in touchdown passes (25) and second in yards per pass attempt (8.5).

And when Seattle needed him most, Darnold delivered the best performance of his career, throwing for 346 yards, three TDs and no interceptions in the Seahawks’ 31-27 NFC Championship Game win over the archrival Los Angeles Rams this past January.

“I’m not saying Drew Lock is not capable of being a starter in this league,” Bumpus said. “What I’m saying is that Sam won you a Super Bowl and had multiple games where he put the team on his back.”

Not an apples-to-apples comparison

There’s also a major caveat this season when comparing Lock and Darnold. Two of Lock’s three games have come against Arizona’s 31st-ranked scoring defense, while Darnold has faced four of the NFL’s top 10 scoring defenses.

“I’m not saying that it shouldn’t be a conversation about Sam and Drew,” Bumpus said. “I’m not denying that Sam needs to play better. But what I’m saying is that the better thrower of the football is Sam.

“And what if Sam played against this (Arizona) defense and had a run game with Zach Charbonnet and Jadarian Price? What if he had those those weapons too? … I’m not giving up on Sam.”

Listen to the full Bump and Stacy conversation at this link or in the audio player near the middle of this story. Tune into Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

Seattle Seahawks news and more

• ‘Electric’ Seahawks RB Jadarian Price flashes his receiving skills
• Stacy Rost: Seahawks showed 3 key improvements vs Cards
• Huard: Seattle Seahawks ‘back to being violent’ in Week 9 win

Related

Breakdown: Where Seahawks’ NFC West title, playoff odds now standSeahawks’ draft pick of JSN started a run on WRs; he’s clearly been the bestSeahawks Injury Updates: Sam Darnold could return after byeNFL reinstates WR Brandon Aiyuk to 49ers after he left team last yearCards WR Michael Wilson, QB Gardner Minshew suffered serious injuries vs SeahawksRams’ Puka Nacua expected to go on IR with knee, toe injuries