Sam Darnold Injured, Latest News on Seahawks QB's Status After Exiting vs. Patriots in Season Opener

Seattle Seahawks starting quarterback Sam Darnold suffered a hip injury in the team's season-opening 13-10 win against the New England Patriots and missed the majority of the contest.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Darnold had a CT scan on his hip at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. The initial test "was encouraging," per Schefter, but it came back inconclusive.

Darnold will undergo an MRI on Thursday.

According to Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald, the team has ruled out a fracture of Darnold's hip.

Darnold appeared to injure his hip on a sack by New England's Dre'Mont Jones in the first quarter. He was replaced by Drew Lock.

Darnold, 29, was fantastic last season during his first year leading the Seahawks, throwing for 4,048 yards, 25 touchdowns and 14 interceptions while completing 67.7 percent of his passes and taking 27 sacks. That earned him Pro Bowl honors for the second straight season.

He was even better in the postseason, throwing for 672 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions in three games as the Seahawks won the Super Bowl.

It was the culmination of a long redemption arc for Darnold, who was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft by the New York Jets but struggled during his three seasons in the Big Apple.

Two years in Carolina weren't much better for Darnold before a backup gig in San Francisco during the 2023 season—under famed quarterback whisperer Kyle Shanahan—began his turnaround.

He was excellent in 2024 for the Minnesota Vikings, throwing for 4,319 yards, 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions before a rough outing against the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card Round ended that campaign. But he parlayed that success into a three-year, $100 million deal with the Seahawks.

As for Lock, he's an experienced backup who has made 28 starts in his career but has gone just 10-18 in those games with a 34-28 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Suffice to say, any injury to Darnold is a major concern in Seattle as the Seahawks look to defend their title.