Sam Darnold is returning to the fold for the reigning Super Bowl champions.
Darnold has no injury designation and will start for the Seattle Seahawks against the Washington Commanders on Sunday after missing Week 2 with a glute injury.
Injured in his team's season-opening win over the New England Patriots, Darnold is back, pushing backup Drew Lock, who performed admirably in the starter's stead, back to the sideline.
Darnold had returned to practice this week and was trending in the right way, going from a limited participant on Wednesday to fully practicing Thursday. Macdonald said he'd make the call about Darnold's availability by Friday, and the call was a positive one.
Darnold went 1 of 2 for 13 yards before being injured on the first drive of the Seahawks' season opener, an eventual 13-10 win over the New England Patriots in a Super Bowl rematch. Initially believed to have been a hip injury, it was a glute ailment that would sideline Darnold with an undefined timetable.
Darnold missed the squad's Week 2 win over the Arizona Cardinals, with Lock filling in and throwing three touchdown passes, all to Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
In Darnold's 2025 campaign -- his first for Seattle, he went to his second Pro Bowl in a row and helped the Seahawks to a 14-3 regular season ahead of their Super Bowl triumph. He completed 67.7% of his passes for 4,048 yards, 25 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
After a brief scare in the season opener and a missed Week 2, Darnold will re-start his 2026 season on Sunday against the Commanders.
