Seahawks say QB Sam Darnold will return to practice 'in some capacity'

Tim Booth, The Seattle Times on Sep 21, 2026

Published in Football

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SEATTLE — What looked to be a major injury suffered by Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold five plays into the regular season might only end up sidelining him for one game.

Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said Monday that he expected Darnold to be on the practice field in some capacity on Wednesday, opening up the possibility that he could return as soon as this Sunday’s game at Washington.

Darnold suffered a glute injury in the opener against the Patriots just a few minutes into the start of the regular season.

There might not be a need to rush Darnold after the way Drew Lock played in relief in the opener and again on Sunday in the 31-7 rout of Arizona. But the fact Darnold is at the point of potentially practicing is a significant turn in a positive direction from the way things looked in the initial aftermath of his injury.

“Right now, the plan is for him to be out there in some capacity and we’ll go from there,” Macdonald said. “How much? We’ll see from here to Wednesday on what that number is but right now that’s the goal.”

Macdonald said after the victory in the desert on Sunday that Darnold’s timeline had shifted for the better and he was ahead of the expected timeline in his recovery. In a later question about Lock and his play, Macdonald said Monday the coaching staff is unsure yet how they intend to disperse the first-team snaps this week between Lock and Darnold.

“Obviously this week is a little bit different with Sam’s situation being a little more up in the air going throughout the week,” Macdonald said. “So this is a little different approach in terms of our process about how we’ll handle our preparation throughout the week.”

The balance Macdonald and his offensive coaches will need to weigh is whether it’s worth rushing Darnold back on a timeline that’s an extreme acceleration from what was initially expected, or give Lock another week as the starter based on his strong performance in the first two games.

Lock was 19 for 26 for 235 yards and three touchdowns against the Cardinals, with all three of his TD tosses going to Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Through nearly two full games, Lock is completing 72.9% of his passes, has thrown four touchdowns — all to Smith-Njigba — and has yet to commit a turnover.

And whoever is at quarterback will be facing a Washington secondary on Sunday that surrendered 279 yards passing and four touchdowns to Dak Prescott in Week 2.

“I sense a lot of confidence in what he brings to the table, and I think I said it this morning, but Drew can play really great football, but he also does it in his kind of personality and his style, which is what we want from our quarterbacks,” Macdonald said. “Which is exciting. I think the players saw the best version of him out on the field, so I’m really happy for him. Proud of all the effort and proud of our team.”

Zach attack

Macdonald made mention on his radio show Monday and expanded later in the day about the hope soon of determining a more specific timeline with running back Zach Charbonnet and his return from the torn ACL he suffered during last season’s playoffs.

Charbonnet is on the physically unable to perform list and would be activated for return to practice, starting a three-week window where he could take part in practice without being on the active roster. At the end of the three weeks, if Charbonnet is not added to the active roster he would have to stay on the PUP list for the entire season.

Macdonald said maxing out the amount of practices allowed for Charbonnet isn’t necessarily the goal, but it’s a consideration the team wants to have.

“We want to try to maximize the amount of time he can practice to give us the opportunity for him to be ready to go back,” Macdonald said.

Quack, quack

A familiar face to the area, but not so much the Seahawks, will be the starting quarterback on the opposite sideline on Sunday in Washington.

The Commanders announced that Heisman Trophy winning former Oregon star Marcus Mariota would get the start at quarterback after Jayden Daniels suffered a dislocated left elbow in Sunday’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Daniels was injured on the final play of the first half, a gruesome looking injury that will keep him out an undetermined amount of time.

Mariota played the second half of the 37-20 loss to Dallas and 11-for-16 passing for 111 yards and a touchdown.

Mariota started eight games last season when Daniels missed time with a similar injury. Mariota has started only twice in his career against the Seahawks — once with Tennessee and once with Atlanta. His teams have won both times.

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