The Seattle Seahawks are showing no signs of moving on from Sam Darnold for Drew Lock despite his recent struggles. Seattle plans to once again give Darnold the keys to the offense as the team takes on the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 7.
Darnold did meet with Seahawks offensive coordinator Brian Fleury ahead of the upcoming primetime game against the Chiefs, per Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer. Seattle is not hitting the panic button, but the team is looking to get Fleury and Darnold on the same page.
“Yeah, you got to look at this also with Sam Darnold. He was out for a couple games,” Glazer noted on an October 18, edition of “Fox NFL Kickoff.” “They have a brand new offensive coordinator. They don’t play their starters in the preseason, right? And there was this enormous amount of pressure on Sam. I think he’s pressing a lot right now.
“Man, we just won the Super Bowl. I’ve got to do more and more and more and more when we got to make sure you and the offensive coordinator mesh,” Glazer added.
“And I know they met about it and talked about it more this past week. And that’s the key.”
The Seahawks Are 1-3 Since Sam Darnold Returned From Being Sidelined With Injury
The Seahawks are just 1-3 since Darnold returned after being sidelined with a glute injury. One of the main challenges has been Darnold’s propensity for turnovers during this losing stretch.
Darnold has thrown seven interceptions during this four-game skid, resulting in three losses. Pressure is mounting on the Seahawks to potentially turn to Lock, but so far the team has been unwilling to make a change.
Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald on Drew Lock: ‘We Have a Great Backup Quarterback in Drew’
During his weekly radio show with Seattle Sports, Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald shot down the notion of benching Darnold for Lock following the team’s recent loss to the Denver Broncos.
“We have a great backup quarterback in Drew,” Macdonald noted in an October 16, interview with “Brock and Salk.” “Drew is a tremendous quarterback. He’s a starting-level quarterback, and (I understand) that we didn’t turn the ball over when Drew played, and then we’ve had takeaway issues (with Sam).
“But right now, I think these things we have to attack as if they’re in our control, and then we can move it forward. Sam’s played great football for us this year the majority of the time, and there’s other times where, and he’ll be the first to tell you, he needs to take care of the football,” Macdonald added.
“But I think these are solutions that we can find with Sam as our quarterback. I believe that.”
Departures of OC Klint Kubiak & RB Kenneth Walker Loom for Seahawks
The Seahawks have been missing former offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker this season. Glazer emphasized that changing coordinators can take longer than expected to work.
“But I think people just look and go, oh, (they) have a new offensive coordinator, no problem,” Glazer added.
“They’ll just pick up where they were last year and it just doesn’t work like that. And Sam missed a couple games this year.”
Seahawks Take Action With Sam Darnold Before Chiefs Game Amid QB Controversy