Seahawks say Sam Darnold's "very unique" injury has "no firm timeline"

Published September 14, 2026 08:36 PM The silver lining in the dark cloud of a quarterback injury is the potential strategic advantage it can create.And the Seahawks seem to be leaning fully into the potential uncertainty flowing from Sam Darnold’s Week 1 mishap, which reportedly caused a strained glute tendon.Via Andrew Destin of The Athletic, a Seahawks spokesperson said Monday that Darnold has a “very unique, soft-tissue injury.” The Seahawks call it “short term,” but they also acknowledged there is “no firm timeline.”On Sunday, we reported that Darnold could be out four to six weeks.The Seahawks have no obligation to say anything about Darnold, beyond the rules of the injury report. And that’s a basic, bare-bones mandate — whether and to what extent he practiced on three days before a given game (limited or full) and, in the final report, whether he’s questionable, doubtful, or out. Teams love to force opposing defenses to prepare for multiple quarterbacks. If Darnold does enough on Wednesday, Thursday, and/or Friday to be described as participating in practice on a “limited” basis, they can keep the Cardinals guessing as to whether it will be Darnold or Drew Lock on Sunday.And the Seahawks can keep doing that until Darnold returns.Whatever the specific problem, it was sufficiently unique and confounding to result in up to four second opinions, as Jay Glazer of Fox Sports reported on Sunday. The thinking is they’ll be cautious with Darnold, given that their team is good enough to win without him — and given the risk that he could suffer an aggravation that extends his absence.