The Seattle Seahawks are preparing Drew Lock to make his first start of the season Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, and the quarterback replacing Sam Darnold is getting some of help from the injured starter.
Lock told reporters Thursday that Darnold has remained heavily involved in Seattle’s preparation despite being ruled out with a glute injury.
Via Aaron Levine of FOX 13 Seattle, Lock said Darnold has been in every meeting and continues to beat him into the building.
“Sam’s been in every meeting. I still can’t beat him to the building somehow,” Lock said. “He’s been fantastic. I’ve been leaning on him pretty heavy. He’s been around and has not stopped working.”
That support gives Seattle an experienced second set of eyes as Lock takes over an offense that Darnold guided to a Super Bowl championship last season.
Darnold Remains Central to Seahawks’ Week 2 Plan
Darnold will not play against Arizona, but Seattle has avoided placing him on injured reserve. Head coach Mike Macdonald announced Wednesday that Lock would start while the Seahawks continue evaluating their No. 1 quarterback on a daily basis.
“Sam’s going to be out this game, Drew will start for us,” Macdonald said, via the Seahawks’ official website.
The team has described Darnold’s issue as a short-term soft-tissue injury in the glute area, with the hip joint unaffected. Seattle also has no plans at this point to send him to injured reserve, leaving the door open for his return within the next several weeks.
In the meantime, his continued presence gives Lock access to the quarterback who spent the offseason and preseason running Seattle’s offense as the starter. Lock’s comments indicate Darnold has essentially remained part of the weekly quarterback preparation even while his own work is centered on rehabilitation.
That added resource arrives before a divisional matchup against an Arizona team that opened its season with a 26-14 road victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Lock Gets Full Week After Delivering in Relief
Lock proved he can step into a difficult spot.
Darnold exited Seattle’s season opener against the New England Patriots after the opening drive, forcing Lock onto the field without a week of starter reps. Seattle fell behind 10-0 before rallying for a 13-10 victory.
Lock completed 16 of 22 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown, including a fourth-down scoring pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The Seahawks’ official site detailed how Lock entered after receiving almost no first-team work during the week.
This time, he gets the full preparation cycle.
Cooper Kupp discussed the benefit of having a full week with Lock, with the offense able to work through communication, cadence and other details that are harder to address when a backup is thrown into a game unexpectedly.
Lock has built his own preparation routine, too. After the Patriots win, he explained that he uses a whiteboard at home to draw every play so he can remain ready for snaps he might never practice during a normal week.
Even with those mental reps and starter work, Darnold is apparently still right beside him in the process.
Seattle would prefer to have its starter healthy, but Darnold’s involvement has given Lock another resource as the Seahawks try to move to 2-0 with a divisional road win.
Seahawks’ New Starting QB ‘Leaning on’ Sam Darnold ‘Pretty Heavy’ Before Cardinals Game