After one series, there’s concern about Seattle Seahawks QB Sam Darnold. After a 3rd-and-6 play, New England Patriots‘ Dre’Mont Jones sacked Darnold for a five-yard loss, but after the play, he limped off the field.
When the Seahawks were on defense, Darnold went into the blue tent to examine him. In the very next series, backup Drew Lock took the field to fill in for Darnold after the Seahawks QB went into the locker room. Moreover, on the broadcast, NBC Sports noted that he’s questionable to return with a hip injury.
Despite having the questionable label after the hip injury, midway through the game, the Seahawks decided to rule him out.
Seattle will miss what Darnold brings to the offense, given that last season he posted a 99.6 passer rating with 4,720 yards, 30 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions in 20 games across the regular season and playoffs in 2025, per StatMuse.
Seahawks Offense Without Sam Darnold
Meanwhile, ESPN’s Brady Henderson noted that new offensive coordinator Brian Fleury is in a challenging position, as he has to call plays in his first game without Darnold.
“Reminder that this is Brian Fleury’s debut as an offensive coordinator,” Henderson wrote on X on Sept. 9. “He’s never called plays in an actual game before today, and now he’s doing so without his starting quarterback, as Sam Darnold is questionable to return with a hip injury.”
With Lock now under center, the Seahawks will likely have to lean on Jadarian Price, who already has the task of replacing Kenneth Walker III and, to an extent, Zach Charbonnet, who will miss the early part of the 2026 NFL season as he remains on the PUP list.
Price has had a handful of carries to start the game against the Patriots, but the running back is drawing praise from NFL insider Jordan Schultz.
“It’s only a quarter of football, but Jadarian Price does not go down on first contact,” Schultz wrote on X on Sept. 9. “What a tough runner. Not surprised so many people in Seattle were giddy about him all summer.
Jadarian Price Could Be Ready to Help Seattle Offense
Price is a rookie, but he might be up for the challenge against New England. He was drawing promising praise during training camp and Seahawks reporter Brian Nemhauser recently shared what he saw from Price that could determine whether the rookie is ready for this major role.
“You’ve got Jadarian Price, who was a backup to Jeremiyah Love, obviously, at Notre Dame,” Nemhauser told Ari Meirov in an Aug. 7 video. “Doesn’t have a lot of miles or wear and tear from being a backup. And he has just been a star in the first part of training camp… There’s kind of two big questions for Jadarian Price: Is he a good receiver? Because he didn’t do much catching of the football. And can he pass protect?
“I can tell you everything I’ve seen [in training camp] is he’s going to be a very good receiver. The pass protection looks like a real work in progress. So I think that could be something that limits when he can be on the field, might have some effect on what kind of plays they can run when he’s on the field.”
Seahawks Get Concerning Sam Darnold Injury News Amid Patriots Game