Seahawks' Darnold Week-To-Week After Quad and Rib Injuries, Lock To Start vs Arizona

Seahawks QB Sam Darnold ruled out vs Cardinals 

He played the entire game with a cracked rib and never said a word. Now Sam Darnold's toughness has finally caught up with him, as Seattle head into their biggest division game of the season without their Super Bowl-winning quarterback.

Seahawks suffer major blow as Darnold ruled out of Cardinals rematch...

Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold has been ruled out of Sunday's crucial NFC West showdown against Arizona after suffering a quadriceps injury and a cracked rib, Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald confirmed on Wednesday.

The Super Bowl-winning quarterback picked up both injuries during Monday night's 34-17 defeat to Chicago, and his return will now be assessed on a week-to-week basis.

“He's tough as nails... He cracked his rib on the second play of the game, so playing the whole game without even making a name of it, and playing his tail off and competing,” said Macdonald.

Macdonald added that the quad injury occurred during the last drive of Monday's loss.

“He'll be back sooner than later, I'm sure,” said the coach, who added that there are no plans to put Darnold on injured reserve.

It's been an up-and-down start for the reigning NFL champions. Seattle sit at 4-4, already two games behind the 6-1 San Francisco 49ers in the NFC West and Darnold's injury problems started way back in September, when he picked up a gluteal muscle injury in the season opener.

Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald says QB Sam Darnold is out in Week 9 vs. Cardinals with a quad injury. https://t.co/GShljIFgl4

— NFL (@NFL) November 4, 2026

Seattle still managed to win that day against New England, and then beat Arizona the following Sunday, with backup Drew Lock stepping in and steadying the ship.

Lock is expected to get the start again for Sunday's rematch with the Cardinals, though the Seahawks are managing his workload in practice as he continues to recover from an elbow injury.

Sam Darnold is OUT this week with a quad injury. Drew Lock will start. Jalen Milroe will back up. IR is not expected for Darnold. They may add a QB this week per Mike Macdonald (full sound in video) https://t.co/ib0LGLOgVv

— Brian Nemhauser (@hawkblogger) November 4, 2026

And just in case, third-string quarterback Jalen Milroe is also being readied for this weekend, Macdonald confirmed.

“We'll be getting both guys ready to play. Got full confidence in those guys, and we have a plan in place, and we'll go execute,” said the coach.

Dealing with a second injury this season has been a real “challenge” for Darnold, Macdonald admitted.

“But I just got a lot of respect for how he goes through these things - because he goes through it, you know, there's no blink, there's no flinch,” he said.

“It's very matter-of-fact, attacking mentality, which I think is reflective of the rest of our team.”