The Seattle Seahawks saw their season flash before their eyes at the beginning of Week 1.
That’s because star quarterback Sam Darnold went down with an injury. At first, it looked like maybe a fractured hip, which would’ve been a long-term injury. However, it ended up being a glute injury, which was much less serious.
Still, the expectation was that Darnold would at least miss two or three games. Then, ahead of Week 2, general manager John Schneider made some interesting comments about Darnold returning to practice this week.
That’s exactly what ended up happening. Darnold was a limited participant on Wednesday and a full participant on Thursday. It’s remarkable that the quarterback has returned so quickly, and he could even play in Week 3 against the Washington Commanders.
For a team like the Seahawks who has Super Bowl aspirations, you might think it makes more sense to bring Darnold along slowly. However, Darnold made it known that he’s not interested in missing any more time.
Darnold Wants to Play in Week 3
Considering Darnold had no limitations in practice on Thursday, his chance to play seems very good. The quarterback isn’t getting too cocky, but he definitely wants to suit up on Sunday.
“I’m really striving for that,” Darnold said Thursday. “But … I’m just taking it day by day. I also don’t want to jinx anything.”
Darnold is an elite competitor, so it’s not surprising that he wants to play. But the Seahawks have actually been just fine with backup Drew Lock, so there’s less urgency to rush Darnold back.
It obviously helps that Lock has handled things, but Darnold also talked about how disappointing it is to not play.
“It’s not fun,” he said. “I’ll be straight up with you guys. It’s tough to get hurt, but to see the way that … Drew came in and how well he played and really just protected the football, I was really happy to see that.”
It’ll be interesting to see what the Seahawks decide to do in Week 3. The Commanders are 0-2 and will also be without their starting quarterback, so this shouldn’t be the toughest game to win.
After Week 3, the Seahawks’ schedule heats up considerably. The team’s next opponents after this week are the Chargers, 49ers, and Broncos.
