The Seattle Seahawks haven’t exactly had an easy start to the 2026 campaign, as they have been without their starting quarterback, Sam Darnold, for all but their first five offensive snaps of the season. Darnold suffered a glute injury that immediately forced him out of the team’s Week 1 clash against the New England Patriots, with Drew Lock filling in for him under center during his absence.
And yet, even with Darnold out, Seattle has still managed to rattle off a pair of wins to begin the year. The hope, though, was always that Darnold wouldn’t have to miss much time, and throughout the week, he has been trending towards playing in Week 3. On Friday afternoon, the Seahawks took the suspense out of the situation by announcing a final update on Darnold’s status.
Seahawks Remove Sam Darnold From Injury Report Ahead of Week 3
Darnold has authored one of the great redemption stories in recent NFL memory. After initially being labeled a bust, Darnold put together a Pro Bowl campaign in 2024 with the Minnesota Vikings, before immediately leading the Seahawks to a Super Bowl championship after signing with them in free agency.
While he wasn’t as good (from an individual perspective) for the Seahawks last year as he was during his lone season with the Vikings, Darnold is a perfect fit for this offense. There’s no doubt Darnold can make just about any throw asked of him, but he’s become selective in picking when to be aggressive and when to check the ball down, and that has made a world of difference for him.
Everybody was excited to see what Darnold would do in his second year as the leader of Seattle’s offense, but he has barely played to this point thanks to his aforementioned injury. That has seemed set to change in Week 3, though, as Darnold has been practicing throughout the week in anticipation of playing. Sure enough, Darnold was removed from the injury report entirely on Friday, meaning he will be back in action after what was essentially a two-game hiatus.
Seahawks QB Sam Darnold is off the injury report for Sunday’s game at Washington and is good to go,” Adam Schefter of ESPN shared in a post on X.
Seahawks Get Major Sam Darnold Boost Amid Hot Start
Being without your starting quarterback would typically be an omen of death for most teams, but the Seahawks have managed to thrive without Darnold. Lock came in and proved himself to be a capable fill-in when called upon, and the defense remains easily the best unit in the league.
And yet, Darnold’s return should help open things up even more on offense and allow Seattle to take things to another level. The Seahawks are set to take on the Washington Commanders in Week 3, and while they likely would have been expected to win anyway, getting Darnold back for this game should make Seattle a comfortable favorite in this contest.
Seahawks Make Final Sam Darnold Injury Announcement Ahead of Week 3