Seahawks’ positive news on Sam Darnold injury. But they aren’t in the clear yet

The Seahawks have positive news on Sam Darnold.

But it’s not conclusive.

It’s still not clear whether they avoid being without their injured, Super Bowl-champion quarterback for an extended time.

Coach Mike Macdonald said following the Seahawks’ rally with backup Drew Lock and their top-ranked defense past the New England Patriots 13-10 Wednesday night that Darnold did not break his hip.

That was the result of tests the 29-year-old quarterback had at Harborview Medical Center during the game. He left it after the game’s first offensive possession for Seattle. Former Seahawk Dre’Mont Jones sacked Darnold on third down to end that drive. Jones’ weight came down onto Darnold’s right leg and side, driving them into Lumen Field’s artificial turf.

#Seahawks Sam Darnold – video concerning for PCL (knee) + labrum (hip)

Lean toward sitting rest of this game pic.twitter.com/39cFY6olg9

— Deepak Chona, MD. SMA (@SportMDAnalysis) September 10, 2026

“At this point, we were able to rule out a fracture. …It’s positive…great news,” Macdonald said. “We got some great news back.

“It’s, uh…let’s say it’s good news right now. Our thoughts and prayers are with Sam. We love him.”

The Seahawks don’t play for another 11 days, Sept. 20 at Arizona. Asked if that extended break increases chances Darnold may be able to play in week two, Macdonald said late Wednesday night: “I really don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know what the extent is.

“I don’t know. …I’m just going with what they tell me.”

Darnold scrambled and was sacked by New England’s Jones on a third down to end the Seahawks’ first possession near midfield. Darnold limped to the sideline and then to the Seahawks bench.

Lock said that was when he thought “all right, this might be something,” and that he could be entering the game.

He did, for the final 3 1/2 quarters while completing 16 of 22 passes despite zero preparation time with the starting offense all practice week.

At the bench, Darnold sat down for a moment. Then he hobbled into the blue tent behind the bench used for medical evaluation.

He emerged moments later limping noticeably as he went down the entire, west sideline of Lumen Field with Dr. Ed Khalfayan into the Seahawks’ locker room.

Lock led a second drive that also ended in a Seahawks punt. The game remained scoreless.

The Seahawks remained scoreless deep into the third quarter before rallying to win behind three fourth-quarter interceptions of New England’s Drake Maye by their top-ranked defense.

The comeback got going when Lock threw on fourth and 1 to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who sped through one defender and sped past three other Patriots for a startling, 45-yard touchdown 3 1/2 minutes into the fourth quarter. That tied the game at 10.

“It’s tough losing 14. I mean, he’s the head of the snake,” Smith-Njigba said of Darnold.

“But we have each other’s backs. Like I said, we fully trust in Drew Lock to come in and do his thing. He’s done it time and time again.

“We just have to have each other’s back, like I’m saying. I’m just super proud of everybody.”