Sam Darnold’s right glute injury is not a labrum tear. It is not a fracture. But sports medicine doctor Jesse Morse examined the imaging and came away with a specific verdict on the Seattle Seahawks quarterback’s return timeline.
Darnold has already been ruled out for Week 2 at Arizona, and the injury won’t fully heal until the offseason, according to Morse. That leaves the defending Super Bowl champions leaning on a backup, with the real question being how many more weeks follow.
Morse, who posts frequent injury breakdowns online, laid out his full assessment of Darnold in a post on his social media channels — but with a significant caveat. To meet the timeline Darnold must undergo PRP or even stem-cell therapy, according to Morse.
“Sam Darnold. Confirmed right glute injury. Likely a partial tear of the gluteus medius tendon at its attachment on the lateral aspect of the greater trochanter of the proximal femur (leg bone),” Morse wrote in a Wednesday afternoon post. “The gluteus minimus could be impacted as well (that sits underneath the medius). He’s reportedly targeting a Week 5 return, which is a realistic possibility if he had ultrasound guided stem cell/PRP injected into there and has done a ton of rehab. This won’t fully heal until the offseason. The good news is that this isn’t his labrum or a fracture.”
To be clear, Morse isn’t predicting Darnold plays Week 5 when the Seahawks face the San Francisco 49ers at home. The longtime sports medicine doctor is saying that return timeline is possible if, and only if, Darnold received the stem-cell or PRP injection and logs extensive rehab.
A day earlier, Morse floated a similar four-week window, guessing Darnold would sit Weeks 2 and 3 before the team tested his mobility ahead of Week 4, with Weeks 5 or 6 possible if that test came back short.
| SEATTLE SEAHAWKS — 2026 SCHEDULE | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WK | Date | Opponent | H/A | Time / Result | TV / W-L |
| 1 | Wed, Sep 9 | New England Patriots | Home | W 13-10 | 1-0 |
| 2 | Sun, Sep 20 | @ Arizona Cardinals | Away | 4:25 p.m. | FOX |
| 3 | Sun, Sep 27 | @ Washington Commanders | Away | 1 p.m. | FOX |
| 4 | Sun, Oct 4 | Los Angeles Chargers | Home | 4:25 p.m. | CBS |
| 5 | Sun, Oct 11 | San Francisco 49ers | Home | 4:25 p.m. | FOX |
| 6 | Thu, Oct 15 | @ Denver Broncos | Away | 8:15 p.m. | Prime Video |
| 7 | Sun, Oct 25 | Kansas City Chiefs | Home | 8:20 p.m. | NBC |
| 8 | Mon, Nov 2 | Chicago Bears | Home | 8:15 p.m. | ESPN |
| 9 | Sun, Nov 8 | Arizona Cardinals | Home | 4:25 p.m. | FOX |
| 10 | Sun, Nov 15 | @ Las Vegas Raiders | Away | 4:05 p.m. | CBS |
| WK 11 — BYE WEEK | |||||
| 12 | Sun, Nov 29 | @ San Francisco 49ers | Away | 4:25 p.m. | FOX |
| 13 | Mon, Dec 7 | Dallas Cowboys | Home | 8:15 p.m. | ESPN / ABC |
| 14 | Sun, Dec 13 | New York Giants | Home | 4:25 p.m. | FOX |
| 15 | Sat, Dec 19 | @ Philadelphia Eagles | Away | 5 p.m. | FOX |
| 16 | Fri, Dec 25 | Los Angeles Rams | Home | 8:15 p.m. | FOX |
| 17 | Sun, Jan 3 | @ Carolina Panthers | Away | 1 p.m. | FOX |
| 18 | TBD — Flex Game | @ Los Angeles Rams | Away | TBD | TBD |
| All times Eastern. Home games at Lumen Field, Seattle, WA. Bye in Week 11. Week 18 is a flex game — date and broadcast TBD. | |||||
Sam Darnold’s Injury and Seattle Seahawks Timeline
Darnold went down on the fifth offensive snap of Seattle’s Week 1 win over the New England Patriots, sacked from behind with his right knee driven into the turf. The team initially labeled it a hip injury before settling on the more precise description of a “very unique soft-tissue” injury to the glute, according to CBS Sports’ Jordan Dajani. Imaging ruled out damage to the hip joint itself.
Darnold and the Seahawks’ Title Defense
Coach Mike Macdonald has already ruled Darnold out for Sunday’s trip to Arizona to take on the Cardinals, but the team currently has no plans to place him on injured reserve, a decision that suggests optimism within the Seattle organization. Drew Lock is projected to start against the Cardinals, with Jalen Milroe backing him up. Lock threw for 187 yards and a touchdown in relief last week, connecting with Jaxon Smith-Njigba on a 45-yard fourth-down score.
Darnold has traveled a longer road than most franchise quarterbacks. The Jets took him third overall out of USC in 2018, and three unproductive seasons in New York gave way to stops in Carolina and San Francisco before his career took a dramatic turn in Minnesota in 2024, when he threw for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns and made the Pro Bowl. Seattle signed him in 2025, and he promptly delivered another Pro Bowl season and victorious start in Super Bowl LX. His career passing totals through Week 1 stand at 20,444 yards, 123 touchdowns and an 86.5 rating across 101 games. Darnold is still only 29 years old.
Seahawks Sam Darnold Injury Update: Sports Doc Predicts ‘Realistic’ Return Date