‘Very unique’ soft tissue injury for Sam Darnold

It was a rough outing for Darnold, who was picked off on his first pass attempt of the day and absorbed a season-high five sacks. His lone touchdown pass came on a 16-yard pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Darnold completed a short two-yard pass to JSN, who turned it upfield for the score to give the Seahawks the 23-21 lead with just over five minutes left in the third quarter. On the Seahawks’ final drive of the game, Darnold found JSN for a 35-yard completion, but three straight incompletions, including an uncharacteristic drop by JSN, put the Seahawks in a fourth-and-10 situation that they were unable to convert after Cooper Kupp came up a yard short on his second reception of the night. Darnold has now thrown seven touchdowns and six interceptions in his last three games since returning from injury, and now faces a short week to get ready for the Broncos on Thursday night. He profiles as a mid-to-low-end QB2 in what could be a tough road matchup.

Darnold’s first pass of the game was intercepted on a throw to the flat that should have gone basically anywhere else. He connected on a screen pass with Emanuel Wilson for his first score, and found Tory Horton on a short slant for his second. The 29-year-old wasn’t close to his best, but could enough against the less-than-spectacular Chargers’ defense. He’ll have a marquee matchup in Week 5 against the 49ers.

It was his first action since leaving in the first series of Week 1 against the Patriots with his hip/glute injury. Darnold’s first interception was a doink off a defensive lineman that landed in the hands of Sonny Styles. The second was an egregious offering that resulted in a pick six. Outside of that, the 29-year-old played relatively well, with two touchdown throws to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and another pair to Cooper Kupp and Eric Saubert. He’ll look to limit the turnovers and find JSN more often in Week 4 against the Chargers at home.

Darnold upgraded to full participation yesterday, so today’s news tracks. In an interview on the Rich Eisen Show earlier today, Seahawks WR Smith-Njigba basically let slip that Darnold would be back, but Eisen let him out of the situation with only a soft follow-up. Darnold can be started as a borderline QB1/2 against a fantasy-friendly Commanders defense in Week 3.

Darnold said today that he is “striving” to play in Week 3 against the Commanders. It sounds like his striding is going well, too. The Seahawks’ starting quarterback is now seemingly on track to play on Sunday. Darnold’s strained glute tendon has healed faster than expected. If active, he can be treated as a high-end QB2.

Darnold was officially listed as a limited practice participant on Wednesday, returning to practice for the first time since his opening day injury. He split first-team reps with Drew Lock and did some throwing off to the side. The Seahawks will make a decision Friday on Darnold’s game status for Week 3 but the 29-year-old has an outside chance of returning against the Commanders.

This means Darnold will likely be listed as a limited participant today. The plan is to ramp him up as the week goes on, and Macdonald said the team would like to have a decision by Friday on whether Darnold will face the Commanders this week. The Seahawks’ quarterback has been sidelined since straining a glute tendon in Week 1. He will probably need to be treated as a QB2 with QB1 upside in his first game back, but his practice participation will clarify his readiness.

To be clear, Rapoport’s tone was controlled and cautionary here. Darnold can only be considered questionable, at best. The Seahawks’ quarterback “is healing faster than anyone had imagined,” but Rapoport adds that the team wants to be “cautious” with him. Backup QB Drew Lock should probably be viewed as the presumptive Week 3 starter at this time, but it sounds like Darnold can reasonably be expected to play in Week 4 at the latest.

FOX Sports’ Megan Olivi reported on Sunday that the Seahawks “are aiming” to have Darnold play in Week 3 against the Commanders. It goes without saying that Darnold will need to get a few days of practice in if he hopes to suit up, making this a big week for the Seahawks’ QB1 as he looks to get back on the field. Darnold’s injury wasn’t as severe as the team initially feared when he exited in Week 1 against the Patriots, but with a game against the 0-2 Commanders on the horizon, it’s possible the team doesn’t look to rush him back to the field if he’s not close to 100 percent. His practice status will be worth monitoring throughout the week, but if he’s held out, Drew Lock will make at least one more start in what should be a plus matchup for fantasy managers.

Darnold’s rehab is reportedly progressing well, but coach Mike Macdonald acknowledged to Olivi that the team just has to wait and see how Darnold responds to treatment next week. His potential Week 3 return is no sure thing, and QB Drew Lock is filling in admirably thus far. Darnold’s practice participation should provide clues as to his availability.