RENTON
Sam Darnold was tossing the football underhanded. He bounced it off the indoor turf, as if it was a basketball.
How the Seahawks quarterback looked following the NFC West champions’ light, walk-through practice in T-shirts and sweats Friday the day before they host the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional playoffs at Lumen Field was inconclusive to his playing status for the game.
Almost as inconclusive as what his coach said Friday afternoon, one day after his Pro Bowl QB injured the left oblique on his non-throwing side throwing a pass without defenders in practice Thursday.
“We’re still listing him as questionable. Really optimistic he’s going to be able to play,” coach Mike Macdonald said.
“Right now we’re going through all the protocol — one, just out of caution to make sure we are ready to go.
“We will kind of test it out (Saturday before the 5 p.m. kickoff) and kind of make the final decision.”
Quarterback Sam Darnold warms up to begin practice Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center in Renton, two days before he and his Seattle Seahawks host the San Francisco 49ers in an NFC divisional playoff game at Lumen Field. Gregg Bell/The News Tribune The News Tribune
Veteran backup Drew Lock finished the practice Thursday while Darnold stopped as soon as he felt discomfort to go inside the team facility for treatment.
Lock, the 29-year-old former Denver Broncos starter the team signed back before this season, has played 38 snaps in mop-up duty of five already-decided games. That’s been while Darnold has led Seattle (14-3) to its most regular-season wins in franchise history.
“Again, we’re optimistic that he’s going to play,” Macdonald said of Darnold.
“If he doesn’t — or if at some point he doesn’t — then Drew’s ready to go. That’s why Drew’s here. He’s doing a great job.”
The News Tribune asked the coach if Darnold threw Friday during the light walkthrough.
The coach didn’t answer.
“Yeah, it’s a walkthrough tempo. He’s just…it’s part of our plan right now and how we handle today,” Macdonald said.
“He says he feels better. …When you talk to him, he’s confident that he’s going to be able to play.”
Darnold was asked an hour or two after he got hurt was percentage of him feels he won’t be able to play Saturday.
“Very low percentage,” Darnold said Thursday. “Probably closer to zero.”
If Darnold indeed starts, as he has all 17 games this season in his first year with the Seahawks, the next question is: Does the team expect him to be limited at all by the injury, in throwing the ball or any of his other normal QB duties in game?
“Well, yeah, that’s a possibility,” Macdonald said. “But I don’t think — I think right now, he’s confident that he’s going to be able to go do his thing 100%. We are, too.
“But these things, something could change between now and then or something could happen in-game. So we just kind of have to roll with it.”
Can Darnold, and would he, play limited in any way with the injury?
“I don’t want to put numbers on it,” Macdonald said. “I mean, I don’t think that we’d put him out there if he couldn’t do his job. He’s going to be able to go do his job (in order to play).”
Will the Seahawks feel the need to make Jalen Milroe active as the backup quarterback? The rookie hasn’t played or even been active for any game since week 5, Oct. 5 against Tampa Bay. He lost a fumble on a specialty play in that game Seattle lost 38-35.
Milroe has been the team’s emergency third quarterback for most games since early October.
“He doesn’t take all the reps throughout the week, but he’s doing the same thing he does every week,” Macdonald said. “He’s been our emergency third for a good bit, so he’s got to be ready to go, if need be.”
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) walks off the field after the Seattle Seahawks 38-37 overtime victory at Lumen Field, on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, in Seattle. Brian Hayes [email protected]
This story was originally published January 16, 2026 at 1:23 PM.
Gregg Bell
The News Tribune
Gregg Bell is the Seahawks and NFL writer for The News Tribune. He is a two-time Washington state sportswriter of the year, voted by the National Sports Media Association in January 2023 and January 2019. He started covering the NFL in 2002 as the Oakland Raiders beat writer for The Sacramento Bee. The Ohio native began covering the Seahawks in their first Super Bowl season of 2005. In a prior life he graduated from West Point and served as a tactical intelligence officer in the U.S. Army, so he may ask you to drop and give him 10.
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