Seahawks news: Sam Darnold's MRI confirms he 'dodged bullet' with hip injury

On Wednesday evening, the Seattle Seahawks kicked off their 2026 NFL season with a thrilling home win over the New England Patriots in a rematch of last year's Super Bowl, which Seattle also won. The first half of this game was overshadowed by a hip injury to quarterback Sam Darnold , which thrust Drew Lock into the quarterback position for the rest of the evening.

However, thankfully, the team got a positive update on Darnold's status on Thursday.

"Seahawks QB Sam Darnold underwent an MRI on his hip this morning that team doctors still are reviewing to determine how much time he will miss. It is expected to be some, but for now the team believes it, as one source described, 'dodged a bullet,'" reported ESPN insider Adam Schefter on X, formerly Twitter.

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Although more missed time isn't ideal, it's certainly good news that there doesn't seem to be any structural damage with Darnold's hip that could keep him out for a significant chunk of time.

Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network later reported on X that " Sam Darnold is expected to miss next week's game, but he should be back sooner, rather than later, sources say. Could be just a few weeks."

Also helping matters is the fact that the Seahawks are entering a light portion of their schedule over the coming couple of weeks, with the Arizona Cardinals and the Washington Commanders being their next two opponents.

Lock had a choppy start to the game but ended up making some big plays down the stretch, proving why the Seahawks trust him as their backup quarterback for situations like this.

Seattle now has a long week before they next hit the field on September 20 on the road vs the Cardinals.