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Brady Henderson
Renton, Wash.– Seattle Seahawks Coach Mike McDonald said Friday he’s “really optimistic” Sam Darnold will play against on Saturday san francisco 49ers Despite a new oblique injury, the Pro Bowl quarterback reiterated what he said a day earlier.
But in his final comments of the week before the Seahawks’ divisional round playoff game against their NFC West rival, McDonald left open the possibility that the injury could become serious before or after the 8 p.m.
The Seahawks listed Darnold as questionable on Friday after he left practice earlier in the day when he felt something in his left side. He told reporters about two hours later that he expected to play.
“Speaking of Sam, I heard what he said to you guys yesterday; I look at it the same way,” McDonald told reporters on Friday. “We’re listing him as questionable. Really optimistic he’ll be able to play. Right now we’re going through all the protocols… just taking precautions to make sure we’re ready to go. We’ll test it tomorrow and make a final decision, but still, we’re optimistic he’s going to play.”
“If he doesn’t, or at some point he doesn’t, then [Drew Lock is] Ready to go, and that’s why Drew is here. He’s doing a great job.”
The Seahawks held a walk-through on Friday, as they typically do the day before the game. McDonald did not answer when asked if Darnold made the throws during the session. While the coach was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the team’s indoor practice facility, Darnold and Lock were watching the play on the field with receivers jake bobo. Darnold was seen making only light, stealthy tosses.
McDonald was asked if Darnold was better physically on Friday.
“Yeah, he says he feels better,” McDonald said. “But you talked to him. He’s confident he’ll be able to play. We feel the same way.”
Is there any thought he could be limited at all on Saturday?
“Well, yes. It’s a possibility,” MacDonald said. “I think right now he’s confident that he’ll be able to do his job 100 percent. We are too. But with these things, something could change between now and then or something could happen in the game. So we’ve got to move forward with it.”
Lock, a seventh-year veteran with a 10-18 record in 28 career starts, is Darnold’s backup. Jalen MillerA rookie third-round pick, is Seattle’s QB3. Milroy has been inactive as a healthy scratch for the past 12 games, although he has continued to serve as the emergency third quarterback.
Darnold suffered the injury Thursday. He said this to journalists He “felt a little something” in his left oblique area. While throwing during the route-on-air period, and as a precaution, he skipped practice. Seattle listed him as a limited partner that day.
“Just didn’t want to escalate it,” Darnold said. “It wasn’t the day to push it. So that’s it. Just came in, got some rehab, and I think I’ll be ready to go for Saturday.”
Darnold was asked what percentage of them think he won’t be able to play Saturday.
“Very low percentage,” he said, “probably close to zero.”
Darnold said he has never suffered from an oblique injury and will receive more treatment between now and game time, adding: “We’ll attack it over the next few days and be ready for Saturday.”
Besides Darnold’s questionable status, Seattle’s only other player with a game designation is in trouble Eliza Arroyolinebacker Chaz Surratt and deal with josh jonesAll backups that have been discarded. left tackle charles cross and safety kobe bryant Will return after missing three and two games respectively.
Cross was limited on Wednesday due to a new knee injury but returned to full participation on Thursday.
“Just got messed up a little bit in practice,” McDonald said of Cross. “So we’re working on it. He’s good to go. It’s more of a precautionary thing than anything.”
Darnold was signed after being traded by the Seahawks in March. geno smith till las vegas raidersIs set to make his second playoff start of his eight-year NFL career. He echoed a sentiment shared by McDonald earlier this week about not getting lost in the postseason hype.
“We are treating it [as] Just another week, another game,” Darnold said. “… We’ve got such great guys in that locker room, mature leaders at every position group. So everyone is ready to go, attacking the week like always, and getting ready to go against a really good 49ers team, and we’re excited to go against them.”
Darnold and the Seahawks defeated the 49ers in Week 18 at Levi’s Stadium to win the NFC West and clinch the conference’s top seed. With that win, Seattle finished the regular season 14–3, the same record Darnold posted the previous year. minnesota vikings On his way to his first career Pro Bowl selection.
He made the Pro Bowl again this year, completing 67.7% of his attempts for 4,048 yards and 25 touchdown passes, while also forcing an NFL-high 20 turnovers.
Darnold lost his playoff debut last January when he was sacked nine times in a wild-card loss Los Angeles Rams. He said the Week 18 win over the 49ers felt like a playoff game because of everything at stake and how big the crowd was at Levi’s Stadium.
The Seahawks will have home-field advantage in the rematch.
“Being able to use the rhythm is going to be huge, and then having our 12 players make noise when they’re on offense is important,” Darnold said. “So, it will be an amazing atmosphere and something we are all looking forward to.”
This will be the first playoff game at Lumen Field with fans in the stands since January 2017. The Seahawks’ only other home playoff game since then was at the end of the 2020 COVID-19 season, when they lost to the Rams in the wild-card round in an empty stadium.
“We know Lumen is going to rock,” Darnold said. “It’s an important game. We don’t distort it at all. We understand the implications of the game. The playoffs, it’s amazing to play in games like this, especially in January. But yeah, we’re treating this week as another week, and we’re excited about it.”
