Let's be clear: Whether Sam Darnold plays for the Seattle Seahawks in Week 3 against the Washington Commanders, head coach Mike Macdonald's team should be in good shape. That Washington will be missing their own quarterback, Jayden Daniels, could make one pending Seattle decision easier.
The initial expectation was that Darnold could miss a couple of games at least after suffering a glute injury on the first drive of Week 1. The issue isn't a long-term concern, but it could limit the quarterback physically, especially when needing to scramble out of trouble, in the immediate future.
A few things are at play concerning Darnold's availability for the Commanders game, though. The main one is that the Seahawks' QB1 might not be healthy enough to play to begin with.
Seattle Seahawks have a Sam Darnold decision to make against Jayden Daniels-less Commanders team
On Monday, Macdonald said that Darnold could be looking to return to practice as soon as Wednesday, but the team still has to see if that is a real possibility. Not until Wednesday will the team know if Darnold is nearly 100 percent and therefore safe to play.
Another aspect is that Drew Lock has been really good in Darnold's absence. Lock hasn't turned the ball over, has been effective with his passing, and is poised in his decision-making. If he needs to play against Washington, then the same truth will be in effective than if Darnold plays: Seattle is the better team and should win the game.
Still, Daniels' absence from a dislocated elbow, an injury he suffered in Week 2, might have a bearing on how the Seahawks approach the game. If there is even any doubt that Darnold isn't fully healthy, holding him out of a Daniels-less Commanders game makes sense. Lock, assuming he plays as well as in the first two weeks, should be good enough to earn another road win for Seattle.
Veteran Marcus Mariota will play in place of Daniels, and Mariota is not a terrible quarterback. He is a proven backup who doesn't turn the ball over and understands his limitations. He has been in the league for 12 years and has seen everything there is to see.
That said, Mike Macdonald's defense should be able to slow him just as the defense would be expected to slow Daniels. The Seattle Seahawks just have a better roster than the Washington Commanders.
Which is why, ultimately, maybe keeping Sam Darnold out one more week would be the wise move. Drew Lock can win the game. Unless Darnold is miraculously 100 percent ready to go, Lock should be QB1 and should be successful against a Commanders defense that is 26th in the NFL in yards allowed per play (6.1) and last in quarterback rating (137.1).
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