Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold will miss Week 9 versus the Arizona Cardinals with a quad injury.
Head coach Mike Macdonald announced the news during his Wednesday press conference and said that during the team's loss to the Chicago Bears in Week 8, Darnold was injured twice. The first was on the second play of the game, when Darnold cracked a rib.
The second issue came late in the game when the quarterback injured his quad, and that is the problem moving forward. Macdonald said that the team wasn't planning on putting Darnold on injured reserve at this point, and he could return by the next game. How the QB responds to treatment will determine his future.
Seattle Seahawks rule Sam Darnold out of Week 9 with a quad injury
With Darnold out against Arizona, the starter will be Drew Lock. Lock played most of the first two games of the season after Darnold injured his glute on the first drive of Week 1. Interestingly, Lock started in Week 2, which was the first game of the season against the Cardinals.
Seattle won that game 31-7 with elite defense and the offense playing turnover-free football. Lock didn't have any turnovers in Week 1 either.
Since Darnold returned, he has struggled with interceptions, so much so that some fans have wanted the team to replace him with Lock. That isn't going to happen as long as Darnold is healthy enough to keep playing, but should Lock do well in Darnold's absence in Week 9 and possibly beyond, a quarterback controversy could brew. At least fans will speculate about that.
The truth is that the team and fans should hope that a bit of speculation happens about a quarterback change because that means Drew Lock will have done well. He needs to. The Seahawks are 4-4, and teetering on losing control of their season. Missing the playoffs is a real possibility unless Lock plays well.
Arizona hasn't beaten Seattle since the Earth cooled, but the Cardinals are playing better. They could also be taking on Seattle at the perfect time.
One issue that the Seahawks could face is that Lock has also been limited in practice recently with an elbow issue. He is expected to play in Week 9, but Mike Macdonald did leave the door open for Jalen Milroe to start if Lock isn't completely healthy.
Milroe hasn't started a game in the NFL, and hasn't looked like he should. If he does play, one might rightly wonder just how limited the Seahawks' already limited offense will be.
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