Mike Macdonald was not going to entertain a question yesterday about the Seattle Seahawks quarterback situation in 2025. On the Brock and Salk show on Seattle Sports 710 AM, host Mike Salk asked the head coach about Darnold's poor performance in the one organized team activity the team has held so far that the media could watch.
Macdonald shut Salk down quickly, saying, "No, you guys are crazy. I respect that you've got to ask it, but it's just a crazy question. It's just not going to happen. Sam's our starting quarterback. We love him. He's doing a tremendous job."
What the head coach says is the final word. Plus, there is no reason to think any other quarterback on the Seahawks' roster could unseat Darnold at this point. Backup Drew Lock has bounced around the league a bit (including a previous stint with Seattle) and hasn't shown enough to be trusted as QB1.
One NFL analyst appears to doubt Mike Macdonald's view on the Seahawks' quarterback situation
Rookie Jalen Milroe might have all the raw athleticism to be a very good quarterback one day, but he isn't ready to be forced into starting yet. That shouldn't happen until 2026 at the earliest.
Darnold is the clear starter, and that isn't going to change even if he gets off to a sluggish start at the beginning of the 2025 season. The 2025 free agent signee has only had one good season out of his seven in the NFL, so it's anyone's guess how good he will be for Seattle.
That didn't stop Bleacher Report's Alex Kay from putting forth the idea that Darnold could be one of the five quarterbacks in the league who could be benched this coming season. Maybe Kay wrote the article before Macdonald spoke about the QB situation, but the article seems poorly timed now.
Worse, Kay doesn't suggest that Darnold would be replaced by Lock, but by Milroe. If Darnold falters, his replacement is going to be veteran Lock and not rookie Milroe. It would be unfair for the Seahawks to put Milroe into a position he isn't ready for. He is too raw and not accurate enough yet to be QB1.
Kay wrote, "It doesn’t help that Darnold has some viable competition for his starting job in Seattle. If he doesn’t quickly pick up his fourth system in as many years and struggles to gel with his new teammates, it won’t be long before the clamoring for Jalen Milroe begins."
Some fans might clamor for Milroe, but many more would understand that Lock would be the natural replacement for Darnold. Lock has started 28 games in the league, and Milroe is currently running with the third-team offense in OTAs.
Still, the above paragraph is meaningless at this point. Mike Macdonald is firm in his stance that Darnold is going to be the starter. Expecting some errors from the new Seattle quarterback should be expected, too. He is throwing to receivers he had never thrown to before, and working behind an offensive line that is still a question mark.
Darnold is the starter. There is no quarterback controversy, no matter what an analyst might write. Macdonald has the final word.