SAN JOSE, Calif.
Normally, the backup quarterback taking first-team reps and starting quarterback being limited in practice days before the Super Bowl would be a five-alarm fire for his team.
Yet the Seahawks are chilling at Super Bowl 60 with Sam Darnold still limited by his oblique injury.
Seattle practice Wednesday at San Jose State University included Drew Lock getting some snaps with the starting offense, as he has in all three of the team’s postseason game weeks. That’s because Darnold was a limited participant, just as he’s been in all three of the team’s postseason game weeks.
The Pro Bowl quarterback is still affected by the injury he got throwing in practice Jan. 15, two shutdown days before he played in Seattle’s 41-6 rout of San Francisco in the divisional playoffs.
Yes, veteran backup Drew Lock took first-team reps in Super Bowl practice Wednesday.
Darnold is throwing a little bit more each practice day. And of course he’s starting Sunday, as he did in the divisional playoff before he beat San Francisco and the conference title game before he beat the Rams. Those games were after he did not throw at all and very little those two practice weeks, respectively.
“We’ll see (Wednesday). It’s definitely, gradually increasing by the day. Some days more than others,” coach Mike Macdonald said before Darnold being limited Wednesday.
Darnold said last bye week between the conference title game and the Super Bowl plus stocking up on extra sleep the first days of the team’s Super stay in San Jose have his injured side feeling “really good.”
“I’m always going to take one step at a time. Do my rehab. Do everything I need to do to make sure it feels great going into practice, going into the game, obviously, on Sunday.”
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) speaks to the media during Super Bowl 60 interviews at the San Jose Convention Center on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, in San Jose, Calif. Brian Hayes [email protected]
Nick Emmanwori’s, Charles Cross’ statuses
Nick Emmanwori was limited in the closed practice. The do-it-all finalist for NFL defensive rookie of the year to be announced at the NFL Honors show Thursday night in San Francisco has a newly listed ankle issue.
Macdonald spoke Wednesday before practice, yet again, of how valuable and advanced Emmanwori is in his defense. Then Emmanwori got hurt defending a pass late in practice, per the league’s pool report.
“He had an ankle today. We brought him in to look at it, and we’ll kind of go from here and figure out, what are the next steps?” Macdonald told Pro Football Writers Association pool reporter Kalyn Kahler.
Left tackle Charles Cross continues to manage the foot injury he’s played through during these playoffs. He was limited in practice, too.
Cross is expected to play Sunday. So are wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and defensive linemen Leonard Williams. They rested Wednesday instead of practicing fully.
Seattle Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori (3) is surrounded by the media during Seahawks team availability , at San Jose Convention Center on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, in San Jose, Calif. Brian Hayes [email protected]
Robbie Ouzts iffy
Rookie fullback Robbie Ouzts missed parts of practice in limited participation. He missed the NFC championship Jan. 25 with a neck injury.
Brady Russell, the team’s special-teams mainstay, has been playing more fullback than tight end while Ouzts has been out the last couple weeks.
This story was originally published February 4, 2026 at 5:57 PM.
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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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