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Mike Macdonald Confirms Sam Darnold Out For Week 2, No Plans For Move To Ir

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SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 08: Sam Darnold #14 of the Seattle Seahawks and head coach Mike MacDonald of the Seattle Seahawks celebrate after defeating the New England Patriots 29-13 to win Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium on February 08, 2026 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Seattle Seahawks are back at practice ahead of Sunday’s Week 2 road game against the Arizona Cardinals. As expected, the Seahawks will not have Sam Darnold at the helm, marking his first missed game since becoming Seattle’s starting quarterback. Drew Lock will get his first Seahawks start since his famous comeback win against the Philadelphia Eagles in December 2023, while Jalen Milroe will serve as the backup.

Mike Macdonald with the latest on Sam Darnold pic.twitter.com/ThTxQDBvo1

— Brian Nemhauser (@hawkblogger) September 16, 2026

Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald told reporters on Wednesday that they “don’t anticipate” placing Darnold on injured reserve, which continues to follow the line from everyone (except Mike Florio) that this is a short-term injury instead of something that could possibly last until late October.

When asked if the Seahawks would add another quarterback while Darnold is out, Macdonald indicated they would roll with Lock and Milroe. In fact, Milroe will get some reps with the first-team as he plays the role of QB2 for the first time in his young NFL career.

Interesting: Coach Mike Macdonald says usual 3rd QB Jalen Milroe will get some 1st-team reps behind Drew Lock, the #Seahawks’ starter Sunday at Arizona for injured Sam Darnold.

That’s not the NFL norm during game week, the backup getting 1s reps. But Milroe’s had zero of em pic.twitter.com/0CxVqvyD9Z

— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) September 16, 2026

There’s not much more to add or say, at this point. The Seahawks will release their first injury report later Wednesday afternoon, but we know Darnold will not practice as he recovers from his glute injury. Seattle is prepping for its first division game with its veteran backup quarterback, with Jalen Milroe getting more experience added to his plate through Sam’s absence.