The festive mood surrounding the Seattle Seahawks as they hoisted their Super Bowl banner to kick off the new campaign was short-lived on Wednesday.
Starting signal-caller Sam Darnold exited the season opener facing the New England Patriots following just a single drive because of a hip issue. Following examinations on Thursday, he is projected to sit out the Week 2 matchup versus the Arizona Cardinals, according to NFL Network, though the Seahawks’ Wednesday kickoff grants him an extended window to recuperate ahead of Week 3.
Drew Lock stepped in for Darnold during the opening period, as the starter headed to the dressing room accompanied by medical staff prior to Seattle’s subsequent offensive drive. Despite an initial struggle, Lock and the Seahawks generated just enough momentum to secure a thrilling 13-10 victory.
For the remainder of the matchup, Darnold was absent from the arena. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the quarterback traveled to nearby Harborview Medical Center to receive a CT scan on his injured hip. With those initial results proving unclear, he underwent an MRI on Thursday. Following the contest, Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald stated that medical staff believed a break had been ruled out, according to ESPN.
Seattle’s organization felt optimistic that they dodged a catastrophic outcome as they await a more precise recovery schedule.
“As of right now, we can confirm there is no fracture,” Macdonald explained. “There are additional evaluations we need to perform. … We are still evaluating everything, but for the moment, a broken bone has been excluded, which is fantastic news.”
Lock connected on 16 out of 22 pass attempts, racking up 187 yards and delivering a 45-yard touchdown strike to Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
The injury occurred when Darnold was brought down by Patriots defensive end Dre’Mont Jones on a third-down play during Seattle’s opening possession. As the special teams unit took the field, Darnold walked to the sideline with a visible hobble. During the telecast, NBC noted that no trainers initially accompanied the quarterback to the bench, though he entered the blue medical tent shortly thereafter.
Following a punt by New England, the broadcast captured Darnold struggling to walk on the sideline while Lock stood nearby with his helmet secured, prepared to enter the game.
During the previous year, Darnold was incredibly durable, starting every matchup and throwing for 4,000 yards in the regular season before providing dependable, poised play during Seattle’s championship run. His journey served as an inspiring narrative of a former high draft pick who revived his career after being discarded by several franchises.
Yet, as the fresh campaign commenced, a far less fortunate narrative began to write itself for both Darnold and the Seahawks franchise.
