Darnold is out this week with a glute injury, but could he return sooner rather than later?
The Seattle Seahawks will be without Sam Darnold for the Week 2 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals after a glute injury has him sidelined.
Going down after just five plays in the Week 1 win over the New England Patriots, Darnold was the big-ticket item this week, as we never really knew exactly what the timeline for his return was.
Some thought he could miss a month, but the Seahawks didn't expect to put him on IR (he would have to miss at least four games), while others thought he might miss only a week or two.
In truth, how his injury progressed this week would be a true indicator of the timeline we could expect for his return.
As head coach Mike Macdonald fronted the media, a question about Sam's progress naturally came up, and he offered a positive update.
"Great, he's on his way back," Macdonald said. "Is it next week? Is it the week after? Is it the week after that? I'm not sure, but I'm optimistic. Let's put it that way."
So, Macdonald doesn't know exactly when we will see No. 14 again, but if he is optimistic, that suggests Darnold will be back sooner rather than later.
Of course, with Drew Lock at quarterback, Seattle doesn't have to rush Darnold back, and if he is anything less than 100 percent heading into Week 3 against the Washington Commanders, I'd imagine the Seahawks will take a cautious approach and sit him.
Sam's injury could have been much worse; we initially thought it was a hip injury, but now it's a glute injury, with some reports that the muscles and tendons around the hip and glute are the problem.
But if Macdonald is stating that Darnold is "great" and that he's optimistic right now about his starting quarterback, Seahawks fans should feel rather confident that No. 14's return could be really soon.
So, while all the focus is on the Cardinals this week, and rightly so, many will have one eye on Darnold in the coming days to see if he could potentially take his place in Week 3.
Which, going by Macdonald's comments, is a more than viable option.
