The Seattle Seahawks aren’t wasting time announcing a starting quarterback for next Sunday’s showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Sam Darnold struggled in Thursday night’s loss to the Denver Broncos, completing 27 of 51 pass attempts for 278 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. He threw a costly pick in overtime that set up the game-winning field goal for Broncos kicker Wil Lutz.
“When you have a defense and special teams group that’s playing the way they are for us, for me, I’ve just got to protect the football,” Darnold said postgame. “Dropping back and taking what they give me, I feel like I did a pretty good job of that in the first half, and then late in the second half, those two plays, you can’t have it.”
NFL insider Mike Florio brought up the possibility of the Seahawks benching Darnold mid-season for Drew Lock, who filled in for him in Week 1 and Week 2.
“Obviously, benching Darnold would likely mean the Seahawks would move on in 2027. His $35.5 million in compensation for next year, the last of his contract, isn’t guaranteed. He earns a $10 million roster bonus on the fifth day of the league year in March,” Florio wrote. “The Seahawks may ultimately decide to ride or die with Darnold for the rest of the season. But they at least need to have the conversation about making a switch, and the possibility of being benched at some point needs to be on the table in order to underscore Darnold’s assessment.”
Even though Darnold hasn’t looked great this season, Seattle isn’t ready to abandon its No. 1 quarterback.
While discussing the Week 6 loss with Seattle Sports, head coach Mike Macdonald confirmed that Darnold is still his starter.
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Sam Darnold has to be better.
Darnold was outstanding at times for the Seahawks in 2025, completing 67.7% of his passes for 4,048 yards with 25 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He saved his best game for the NFC Championship, throwing for 346 yards and three touchdowns in a win over the Los Angeles Rams.
Fast forward to this season, and Darnold already has seven interceptions in six games. Obviously, he’s got to take better care of the football.
“It’s BS for me to keep turning the ball over,” Darnold said. “It’s not fair to our defense. It’s not fair to our special teams. It’s not fair to our entire team. I’ve got to be better.”
We’ll see if Darnold bounces back next Sunday against the Chiefs.
