Seahawks QB Sam Darnold to miss Week 9 with quad injury, Drew Lock expected to start - USA Today

The Seattle Seahawks are making a change at quarterback, if only temporarily.

Head coach Mike Macdonald announced on Wednesday, Nov. 4, that starter Sam Darnold will miss the team's Week 9 matchup with the NFC West rival Arizona Cardinals after he suffered an injury to a quadriceps muscle late in Monday night's loss to the Chicago Bears. Drew Lock, who played the bulk of Seattle's first two games after Darnold injured a glute muscle on the first drive of the season opener − the Seahawks won both games − is expected to start.

“We trust Drew, we know Drew,” Seahawks linebacker and defensive captain Ernest Jones IV told USA TODAY Sports after he was forced into action in Week 1. “He lights us up in practice throughout the week, so we know he's gonna do it to other people, too.”

Lock passed for 235 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-7 rout of the Cardinals at Arizona in Week 2. Darnold returned the following weekend.

“We’ve all been saying Drew has been the best two (backup quarterback) in the NFL for years,” safety Julian Love said of Lock after he helped guide the Seahawks to a 13-10 win over the New England Patriots in the league's 2026 kickoff game. “He’s such a leader. He makes plays all the time in practice.

That doesn't appear to have wavered even though Darnold has struggled during Seattle's 4-4 start, which has included a sputtering running game that was so vital to their success as they steamrolled to victory in Super Bowl 60 last season. Darnold has thrown 10 TD passes this season but also been intercepted nine times. Lock connected for four touchdowns in his two 2026 appearances and has not committed a turnover.

Macdonald shot down the notion of a voluntary quarterback change after Darnold and the offense struggled in a Week 6 loss to the Broncos in Denver, where he was picked off in overtime.

"There are things that we can all do to help Sam play better football," Macdonald said on Oct. 16. "We trust Sam, we believe in him. We feel like he's definitely part of the solution in terms of us playing better football on offense and at quarterback."

"We have a lot of faith in Sam," Macdonald said. "Sam has played great football for us. He's done a lot of great things this year. He's obviously turned the ball over more than we want to. There are things on our end that can help him play better football and he's part of the solution rather than the opposite."

Third-stringer Jalen Milroe will also prepare to play in Week 9 given Lock has been nursing an elbow injury in recent weeks. A third-round pick out of Alabama last year, Milroe has been used in specialty packages but has yet to throw his first regular-season pass in the NFL.

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