Seahawks Rule Out Sam Darnold for Week 2, Drew Lock Set to Start at Arizona

Sam Darnold will not play Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald confirmed the news at his Wednesday press conference, announcing that Drew Lock will start in Darnold's place while Jalen Milroe moves up to backup quarterback.

"Sam's going to be out this game, Drew will start for us," Macdonald told reporters. "We don't anticipate putting him on IR or anything like that, but we'll just kind of reevaluate every day, reevaluate next week, and we'll go from there, but he won't play this week."

Darnold got hurt on the first possession of last week's 13-10 win over the New England Patriots, suffering a glute injury that forced him out of a game Seattle trailed 10-0 before rallying to win. Lock came off the bench and completed 16 of 27 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown in the comeback.

The Seahawks are not planning to place Darnold on injured reserve, which would have forced him to miss four games. Skipping IR points toward Seattle expecting him back well before then, potentially in time for the Oct. 11 home game against San Francisco. Between now and that game, Seattle plays at Arizona, at Washington on Sept. 27, and hosts the Los Angeles Chargers on Oct. 4.

Macdonald described Darnold's rehab in glowing terms without offering a firm return date. "He's killing it on his rehab," Macdonald said. "He's doing a great job. He's doing a lot right now, he's just not going to be able to play this week." Reports on a possible timeline have varied. One report has suggested Darnold could be back as soon as Week 3, while another has floated a four to six week absence. Macdonald did not close the door on either scenario, saying only that Darnold will be reevaluated daily and again after the Arizona game.

The Seahawks also confirmed they will not bring in outside help at quarterback. "We're going to roll with Drew and Jalen," Macdonald said, meaning Lock and Milroe are the only two quarterbacks behind Darnold on the depth chart for as long as he's out.

Drew Lock Gets His Shot

Sunday will mark Lock's third career start with Seattle. He started twice in 2023 while filling in for an injured Geno Smith, including a 20-17 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football. He then spent the 2024 season with the New York Giants, going 1-4 as a starter, before returning to Seattle in 2025 as Darnold's backup. For his career, Lock is 10-18 as a starter, including an 8-13 mark in Denver, where the Broncos took him 42nd overall in the 2019 draft out of Missouri.

Macdonald made clear this week's practice reps will look different for Lock than the ones he got heading into Week 1, when he had no notice he might play. "Drew's known he's going to start here for a while," Macdonald said. "He'll get all the reps. He's our starter this week."

Macdonald had strong words for his backup-turned-starter. "Drew's a proven, really good player in this league," Macdonald said. "When he has started, he has played really good football, then when he's been on our team, since I've seen him play in person, he's a heck of a player here. Heck of a guy, heck of a teammate."

Defensive lineman Leonard Williams backed that up from the locker room. "We have all the faith" in Lock, Williams said, calling him "the best second-string quarterback in the league." Williams pointed to Lock's history of stepping in and delivering, including that 2023 win over the Eagles, as the reason teammates trust him now.

Milroe Moves Up

Jalen Milroe, Seattle's third-round pick in 2025 out of Alabama, takes over the backup job after playing just three snaps as a rookie. Macdonald said Milroe will see his practice workload increase this week as he gets his first real taste of reps with the first-team offense.

"I'm sure we'll tweak some part of the process in terms of numbers," Macdonald said. "Jalen's not going to get no reps, let's put it that way." Macdonald praised Milroe's work ethic through camp and the preseason, saying the effort is starting to show results.

None of this changes the fact that Seattle is down to two healthy quarterbacks with no depth move planned behind them. That is a real risk for a team that just watched its starter go down on the opening series of the season. But Macdonald's decision to skip injured reserve and lean on a proven fill-in in Lock, who has already delivered a win this year, suggests the Seahawks view this as a short-term problem rather than a season-altering one. Sunday in Arizona will be the first test of that bet.

More Info

• Bump and Stacy (Seattle Sports 710): Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald confirms Sam Darnold out for Week 2, Drew Lock to start vs Cardinals | Bump and Stacy (Seattle Sports 710)
• The Ian Furness Show (93.3 KJR): Seahawks sports headlines report Sam Darnold out again this week, Drew Lock to start | The Ian Furness Show (93.3 KJR)
• Sam Darnold Ruled Out For Seahawks' Week 2 Game At Arizona; Drew Lock Will Start | Seahawks.com
• Seahawks make it official: Drew Lock will start as Sam Darnold sits | Seattle Times Sports
• The Seahawks have confidence in Drew Lock's ability to take over for injured QB Sam Darnold | sports.yahoo.com
• Mike Macdonald confirms Sam Darnold out for Week 2, no plans to add a quarterback | Field Gulls