Does Sam Darnold injury open door for Seahawks to use QB Jalen Milroe?

The Seattle Seahawks will go at least one full game without starting quarterback Sam Darnold, who will be on the sidelines with a glute injury while backup Drew Lock starts Sunday in Arizona, 11 days after he stepped in to lead the Hawks past the New England Patriots in the opener.

Seattle Seahawks don’t expect much change with Lock at QB

Darnold and Lock aren’t the only quarterbacks on Seattle’s roster, though, and there’s a very interesting question now about the third one.

Does Darnold’s absence open the door for the Seahawks to use speedy second-year QB Jalen Milroe on Sunday?

The idea is intriguing to Mike Salk, as he explained Thursday on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk.

“If Jalen Milroe comes onto the field, I’m going to be excited,” Salk said to his co-host, longtime FOX football broadcaster and former NFL QB Brock Huard. “And I’m probably not alone. You probably will be too, just to see what happens.”

Salk: The forgotten conversation about Jalen Milroe

‘A lot of newness’

The Seahawks did try to integrate Milroe into their offense early on last season, building a package around him in an attempt to put his running ability to use. It didn’t last long, though. Milroe received one snap at QB in each of Week 1, Week 3 and Week 5 in 2025. He rushed for four yards combined and lost a fumble in a Week 5 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which was the last time the Seahawks used him in a regular season game.

While Milroe is a year older now and played more in the preseason last month than any other Seahawks QB, Huard doubts that Seattle will plan to have Milroe take any snaps away from Lock on Sunday against the Cardinals. He has a couple of reasons for that.

The first has to do with how the absence of Darnold combined with a first-year offensive coordinator in Brian Fleury means there’s plenty that’s unsettled for the Seahawks’ offense right now.

“A lot of newness. You want to add to that newness to the whole operation with a different cadence (if Milroe comes in)? I think that that’s probably why I say no,” Huard said. “I understand it. Am I saying definitively there’s not a package (for Milroe) right on that call sheet of Brian Fleury that he’s looking at? … Absolutely is, as there is for any backup, because now he bumps up one spot.”

The second reason is that with Milroe moved up one on the depth chart, the Seahawks only have two healthy quarterbacks now – and that’s including the practice squad.

“What happens with one guy that’s out in Sam and you put (Milroe) in contact’s way?” Huard said.

The intrigue of Milroe

There is one reason you shouldn’t completely rule out a Milroe appearance.

“I agree, it probably doesn’t happen,” Salk responded to Huard, “unless they need a spark. That’s the one thing – the offense looked OK (against New England) under Drew Lock. It wasn’t exactly tearing things up. They weren’t moving quickly up and down the field with tons of explosive plays and all of that. They got a couple of big ones when they needed it and obviously the defense set them up at the end.

“But what if it’s just not happening? … What if they’re not able to move the ball? At some point, do you consider giving Jalen Milroe the ball just because he can provide a spark by doing it somewhat differently? I think that is where – and I’m not saying you turn to him and bring him in to be the quarterback – but would you at that point consider using him a little bit to try to just change the look and (bring) just a different style to try to throw something else at a team that maybe has your number with Drew Lock?”

Huard related Milroe’s skill set to Demond Williams Jr., the UW Huskies’ dual-threat QB, to point out how he might be able to help out the Seahawks’ offense if needed.

“It’s just like Demond Williams. He might be just, like, straight-ahead acceleration and speed as dynamic as anybody on your entire offense,” Huard said.

Catch Brock and Salk live weekdays from 6-10 a.m. on Seattle Sports.

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