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Quarterback
Sam Darnold Starts Sunday, and JSN Told Rich Eisen Before Anyone Else Could
Sam Darnold starts Sunday at Washington. He came off the final injury report Friday with no designation, and Mike Macdonald, asked what he needed to see from his quarterback this week, went full Sunday-morning faith healer: “It’s a medical miracle he’s back.” It was a glute. I would like the name of that doctor.
The Seahawks didn’t even get to break it themselves. On The Rich Eisen Show Friday, Jaxon Smith-Njigba announced “we get to have Sam Darnold back,” and when Eisen pressed him, JSN backpedaled into “He looks good out there, I’ll say that.” You’ll say that? You already said all of it, buddy. A $168.6 million contract, and the man still couldn’t keep a secret until the team posted the injury report.
Where Darnold left off: 1 of 2 for 13 yards on the opening drive of a 13-10 win over New England. Since then Seattle went 2-0 with Drew Lock taking the snaps, including three touchdown passes at Arizona, every one of them to JSN. Lock hands back an undefeated team and returns to the whiteboard. Most franchises would light a candle for this kind of quarterback problem.
1 of 2
Darnold’s entire 2026 passing line before Sunday: one completion, 13 yards, one opening drive.
And the re-entry is gentle. Washington is starting Marcus Mariota in its home opener with Jayden Daniels out. Macdonald won’t call that part a miracle. I will.
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Secondary
Both Starting Safeties Are Out. Both Replacements Began September on the Practice Squad.
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So the deep middle belongs to AJ Finley and Rodney Thomas II, two guys who opened the month on the practice squad. Thomas makes his third straight start. Finley makes the first start of his four-year career, and Macdonald called him “sharp as a whip” on Friday, which is a lovely thing to say about anyone and a necessary thing to say about the guy replacing a three-game pick streak.
Nick Emmanwori is likely to stay in his hybrid linebacker role rather than slide back to deep safety, with Seattle leaning on six-DB dime looks against Mariota. And Okada’s timeline, per Macdonald: “a day-to-day to week-to-week type of thing.” That covers every unit of time except the one anybody actually wants.
SOURCES →
AROUND THE COOP
Around the Coop
Jadarian Price is off the injury report and practiced fully Friday after the shoulder scare in Arizona. Macdonald: “He’s taking a ton of reps.” Three healthy backs, one job, zero rushing touchdowns. The committee is fully staffed and still can’t find the end zone. Spokesman-Review
Zach Charbonnet could return to practice next week and open his 21-day window, per Macdonald. Seattle has won twelve straight without him. He is arriving as a bonus feature. Yakima Herald-Republic
Oddsmakers made Seattle a seven-point road favorite in Washington before Darnold was even cleared. That number was built on a Drew Lock team. The Drew Lock team won 31-7 last week. SI
NFC WEST SCHADENFREUDE REPORT
RAMS
The Rams’ own website previewed Sunday night in Denver, and before its podcast even got to the Broncos, it paused to discuss “the ongoing issues in the kicking game.” Ongoing. It’s Week 3. Los Angeles un-retired Aaron Donald and the in-house show still needs a standing segment for the kicker. Somewhere a holder is quietly updating his résumé.
NINERS
Asked whether he takes pride in all the former assistants now running their own teams, Kyle Shanahan offered “Deep down probably, yeah, and eventually,” before getting to the real answer: “But, it’s more irritation, especially when you have to run into them twice a year.” With Mike LaFleur now in Arizona, all three of San Francisco’s division rivals run offenses derived from his scheme. He built the thing, gave it away three times, and one of the recipients has the banner. Irritation sounds about right.
CARDINALS
Mike LaFleur has been talking about working in the heat since training camp, partly because of Sunday’s trip to Levi’s Stadium, where the afternoon sun beats down on the visiting sideline. The forecast in Santa Clara is mid-70s. The Arizona Cardinals, a franchise that lives in the desert, spent the summer bracing for a pleasant Bay Area afternoon. The last time they were somewhere genuinely uncomfortable, it finished 31-7.
SEACHICKENS TRIVIA
This Florida fullback was Seattle’s first-round pick at No. 15 overall in 1986 and made the first of his two Pro Bowls after a 1990 season with 741 rushing yards and 73 catches. Who is he?
Tap to Reveal the Answer
John L. Williams. He topped 1,000 yards from scrimmage in four straight seasons from 1988 through 1991, which is exactly the kind of fullback a motion-happy offensive coordinator dreams about.
THIS DAY IN SEAHAWKS HISTORY
1976
September 26, 1976
The First Seahawks-49ers Game Ever
The expansion Seahawks met San Francisco for the first time and lost 37-21. Fifty years and 57 meetings later, Seattle owns the series 33-24, and the most recent one, in January, finished 41-6. The next one is October 11. Some debts take a while to collect.
Got a Question for The Rooster?
Safety depth panic, fullback nostalgia, or a burning need to know why a glute counts as a miracle. Send it in and I’ll answer it in the Feed, with more opinion than you asked for.
Ten a.m. kickoff. Set an alarm, not a reminder. — The Rooster