Major update on health of Seahawks star Sam Darnold after he limped out of Patriots win after just five plays

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold has avoided a broken hip after he got injured just five plays into the new NFL season on Wednesday night.

Darnold was sacked on Seattle’s first series by Dre’Mont Jones of the New England Patriots, and the quarterback’s right leg appeared to take the brunt of the impact as Jones drove him to the turf.

Darnold limped off the field, was examined in the sideline medical tent and then limped to the locker room. The Seahawks initially said Darnold was questionable, then announced before halftime that he would not return.

Backup Drew Lock replaced him and went 16 of 22 for 187 yards and a touchdown as the Seahawks rallied for a 13-10 victory but an injury to their franchise quarterback cast a shadow over the evening.

There was some good news hours later though when coach Mike Macdonald revealed Darnold didn’t break any bones while adding that more tests were needed. 

‘At this point, we are able to rule out a fracture,’ Macdonald said. ‘So there’s some more tests to be done. We’re still working through all that, but right now I think fracture is out, which is great news.’ 

Macdonald admitted it is too early to tell if he will be able to play in Seattle’s next game against the Arizona Cardinals on September 20.

ESPN reported Darnold was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for a CT scan on his hip. While that was encouraging but inconclusive, he will now have an MRI on Thursday. 

‘I feel like I know Sam really well. He was going to do everything he can to stay out there, but it´s just one of those things where he had to go get looked at,’ Lock said.

Darnold, 29, did not miss a game last season as he led the Seahawks to the title. He threw for 4,048 yards with 25 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in the regular season as Seattle won a franchise-record 14 games.

It was his first season with the Seahawks after reviving his career with the Vikings in 2024, when he threw for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns.

Drafted third overall in the 2018 draft out of Southern California by the Jets, Darnold had a 13-25 record and a 78.6 passer rating over his initial three seasons for New York. He also played for Carolina and was the backup to Brock Purdy in San Francisco.

Darnold was one of two for 13 yards against New England before he left. The Seahawks fell behind 7-0 at halftime, but Lock started to play better in the second half.

‘It was great to to get in here at half, put the plays up on the board, talk about our openers coming out of the half, really get those dialed in,’ Lock said.

‘I think it´s also a little bit of the just feeling the flow of the game, getting back into this, finding ways to in the future be able to snap into it quicker. That´s just the life of a backup.’

Down 10-3 in the fourth quarter, Lock hit Jaxon Smith-Njigba on fourth-and-one, and the star receiver dashed to the end zone for a 45-yard touchdown. Drake Maye then threw three interceptions to hand victory to Seattle.

‘It´s tough losing (Darnold). I mean, he´s the head of the snake, but we have each other´s backs,’ Smith-Njigba said. ‘We fully trust in Drew Lock to come in and do his thing, done it time and time again. So we just have to have each other´s backs.’