Sam

Darnold

It’s a Super Bowl rematch for the two teams, who will get the new league year started on Wednesday, September 9th on NBC, the preferred broadcasting network for football watchers. Sam Darnold and the Seahawks will look to get the season started on a strong note against the Patriots and Drake Maye, who looked wildly out-matched the last time these two teams met. It’s one of two games the Seahawks will play on NBC this season, as they will also take on the Chiefs in Week 7 on Sunday Night Football.

The Seahawks will reportedly begin their title defense at home with a rematch against the Patriots. Seattle won the Super Bowl matchup handily, cruising to a 29-13 victory to hoist the Lombardi trophy. The teams will look mostly the same, with some key differences. The Pats won’t have 2025 leading wide receiver Stefon Diggs, while Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker left the Seahawks for the Chiefs. Still, the NFL is starting strong with an immediate Super Bowl rematch.

It wasn’t always the prettiest performance, but Darnold stood tall in the face of pressure — both defensive and otherwise — and avoided turnovers while taking only one sack. He could never hit on one of his patented deep completions, but did more than enough as the Seahawks’ defense absolutely smothered the Patriots’ offense to claim the second Super Bowl title in franchise history. As for the regular season, Darnold completed his multi-season comeback story, shaking off his “big game” collapse from 2024-25 to set a new career high in completion percentage (67.7) while keeping his touchdown percentage above 5.0. He finished top five in completion rate over expected, and was amongst the league leaders in average depth of target. That’s the long way of saying he paired efficiency with explosive plays, the latter of which were nearly all directed Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s way. Still on the right side of 30 and signed for the next two seasons in Seattle, Darnold should remain a priority streamer in fantasy. Despite his career revival and sterling “real life” play, Darnold’s volume is limited just enough to keep him outside the top 12 in offseason ranks.

Up until Thursday, Darnold had been a limited practice participant since injuring his oblique during the Seahawks’ final Divisional Round practice. As of Friday evening, he has two full sessions under his belt. Last time we saw Darnold on the field, he threw for a season-high 346 yards and three touchdowns. He is good to go for Sunday’s game.

This is great news. A report from this afternoon indicated that Darnold would again participate in a limited capacity, as he has done since injuring his oblique during the Seahawks’ final Divisional Round practice. Darnold is ready to go for Super Bowl LX against the Patriots. Seahawks LT Charles Cross (foot) remains limited.

This was always the expectation, but we will continue to update Darnold’s practice participation level and his official game status. Darlington adds that Darnold was limited again today, as has been the case since he suffered the injury during the Seahawks’ final Divisional Round practice. He threw for a season-high 346 yards against the Rams in the NFC Championship Game, assuaging all performance-related concerns.

Darnold has been dealing with the oblique issue throughout the postseason, though it seemingly hasn’t had any effect on his performance. He noted that the extra rest ahead of the Super Bowl has helped him get ready for the final game of the year. With both Darnold and Maye having no issues playing through their respective injuries, Seattle safety Nick Emmanwori is the biggest injury question mark ahead of Sunday’s game. Emmanwori injured his ankle in practice this week and is undergoing testing to determine the severity of the issue. The rookie has 11 pass breakups, 2.5 sacks, and one interception this year.

Also limited was LT Charles Cross (foot). Darnold and Cross have been limited in practice for the playoffs, but have played through their respective injuries. The Seahawks’ passing game has operated well in their two playoff games and neither player will be at risk of being limited for the Super Bowl, barring setbacks in practice. Expect both to fire it up in a battle for the Lombardi Trophy against the Patriots.

Darnold was limited in practice today. The Seahawks continue to smartly take it easy on their star quarterback as he rehabs his multi-week soft tissue injury. Darnold threw for a season-high 346 yards against the Rams in the NFC Championship Game. We have no concerns about his availability. The team removed him from this week’s injury report at the end of the day, indicating he would play if Super Bowl LX were to be played this weekend.

While it would be nice to see Darnold practice fully, he threw for 346 yards and three touchdowns while managing the oblique injury last week. His availability for Super Bowl LX against the Patriots is not in jeopardy. The Seahawks will practice at home on Friday and Saturday before flying to San Jose.