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Injury Report
Darnold Practices Wednesday, and Macdonald Already Settled the Argument
Sam Darnold is going back on the practice field Wednesday. Mike Macdonald said Monday the plan is for Darnold to be out there “in some capacity,” with the volume to be determined between now and then, and earlier the same morning on his radio show he said there is a chance Darnold plays Sunday at Washington. Two weeks ago the man lasted five plays.
Which creates the only problem a 2-0 team can have. Drew Lock has completed nearly 73 percent of his throws with four touchdowns and zero turnovers, and his Total QBR of 86.4 ranks fourth among every quarterback in football through two weeks. A Monday report floated the idea that Seattle might just leave him out there even if Darnold gets cleared.
86.4
Drew Lock’s Total QBR through two weeks, fourth best among all NFL quarterbacks.
Macdonald did not leave that one hanging around. “If Sam can play, he’s going to play,” he told reporters, per ESPN’s Brady Henderson, and he specifically said Lock’s play won’t factor into the decision. That is the right answer and also a slightly brutal one. Lock has been terrific and Lock is still the backup. Both of those things get to be true at the same time.
So Wednesday is the whole week. If Darnold takes a real rep load, we are talking about a quarterback who missed nine days and came back. If he’s out there in a red non-contact shirt doing handoffs at half speed, Lock gets Landover and Darnold gets the Chargers. Either way, nobody in this building sounds worried, which after XLIX I find personally suspicious and am choosing to enjoy anyway.
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Lock has been terrific and Lock is still the backup. Both of those things get to be true at the same time.
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Backfield
Jadarian Price’s Chest Injury Turned Out to Be Somewhere Else Entirely
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X-rays were negative and Macdonald doesn’t expect a long absence, though he didn’t put a timetable on it. For a rookie first-rounder who also put the ball on the ground in Glendale, a week of rest and a reset is not the worst outcome available.
Emanuel Wilson took it from there with 21 carries for 92 yards, which is roughly ten times the workload he saw in the opener. Seattle spent April taking a running back at 32 and spent Sunday afternoon finding out the guy they signed in March off a one-year deal can carry a game. Depth is only boring until you need it.
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AROUND THE COOP
Around the Coop
Jaxon Smith-Njigba was nominated for the Air & Ground Player of the Week after nine catches for 155 yards and three scores, a single-game career high, including an 82-yarder on Seattle’s opening possession. Arizona knew where he was the entire afternoon. Didn’t help them. Seahawks.com
Washington will start Marcus Mariota on Sunday while Jayden Daniels seeks opinions on his elbow. The 0-2 Commanders host the 2-0 Seahawks in their home opener. There is a real chance this game features two backup quarterbacks, and only one fan base is calm about it. NFL.com
Macdonald is unsure about Anthony Bradford’s status this week after knee and hip injuries dropped him from questionable to out on Saturday. Christian Haynes and Beau Stephens split the job in his place and the run game produced 162 yards. Competition is a wonderful motivator. Seattle Sports
Zach Charbonnet is closing in on a return to practice from February knee surgery, with Macdonald offering a two-word review: “Zach’s doing great.” Eight months ago he tore an ACL in a playoff game. Nobody needs him this week, which is exactly why this week is the right time. Seattle Sports
NFC WEST SCHADENFREUDE REPORT
RAMS
Aaron Donald’s comeback game arrived Monday night, and Los Angeles won 28-6, so the vibes are fine. The box score is funnier. Donald played 32 defensive snaps and finished with three tackles, one run stuff and zero quarterback pressures. Per Next Gen Stats, a Giants rookie right guard lined up across from him 11 times and gave up nothing. They un-retired a legend and a first-year player went 11-for-11 against him on a Monday.
NINERS
San Francisco is 2-0 and already working the phones. Asked after Sunday’s win whether the 49ers had looked into free agent edge rusher Leonard Floyd, Kyle Shanahan said they always look at that and confirmed they talked to him. Floyd played for them in 2024. They let him leave, spent an offseason on the defensive line, and by Week 2 were calling the guy they already had. Great plan, second time around.
CARDINALS
Arizona’s running backs combined for 14 carries and 39 yards against Seattle on Sunday, and outside of two runs on their only touchdown drive there was nothing there at all. Two weeks in, the ground game is among the worst in the league. You can build an offense around the third overall pick or you can hand him the ball twice a quarter in a 31-7 loss. They picked.
SEACHICKENS TRIVIA
Seattle took linebacker Aaron Curry fourth overall in the 2009 draft, then traded him to the Oakland Raiders in October 2011. What did the Seahawks get back?
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A 2012 seventh-round pick and a 2013 fifth-round pick. The seventh turned into guard J.R. Sweezy, so the fourth overall pick eventually produced a starting offensive lineman, just not the one anybody planned on.
THIS DAY IN SEAHAWKS HISTORY
2013
September 22, 2013
Seahawks 45, Jaguars 17
Seattle hosted Jacksonville at CenturyLink Field in Week 3 of the 2013 season and won 45-17 in front of 68,087 people. The Jaguars scored 17 points long after it stopped mattering. That team went on to win Super Bowl XLVIII, and this was the afternoon where it started to feel less like a hot start and more like a problem for the rest of the league.
Got a Question? Fire Away.
Mailbag’s open. Roster math, cap math, petty grievances about the officiating in games that ended a decade ago. Send it in and I’ll answer it honestly, which is not always the same as kindly.
We have a quarterback problem. It's the good kind. — The Rooster