Sam Darnold will be making a quick return to the gridiron.
Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald told reporters Friday that Darnold, who has been injured since the team’s 13-10 Week 1 win over the Patriots, will be ready for Seattle’s game against the Commanders on Sunday.
Darnold, 29, suffered a glute and hip injury just five snaps into Seattle’s season opener and was on the sideline for its 31-7 Week 2 win over the Cardinals.
The two-time Pro Bowl quarterback was a full participant both Thursday and Friday, his first return to the field in two weeks. Seahawks offensive coordinator Brian Fleury said that Darnold looked “great” in his return thus far, The Athletic reported.
Despite the initial scare, Darnold’s injury was not thought to be serious, with a Seattle spokesperson describing it as a “very unique, soft-tissue injury” to his hip. ESPN reported last week that Darnold was not going to be placed on IR but could miss at least four weeks.
“It was after I got the CT scan, and you can take a better look at the anatomy of the hip bone,” Darnold told reporters. “That was when the doctor brought the good news to me.”
He added that the injury is not related to the oblique injury he suffered during Seattle’s Super Bowl championship run.
“When you have an injury to your hip, or anywhere, all the muscles around that area tighten up a little bit,” Darnold added. “Continuing to keep it loose and strong, making sure that I’m good coming back.”
Following his injury, Darnold said that watching the Seahawks play New England — whom they beat in the Super Bowl in February — was difficult to bear.
“It’s not fun,” Darnold said Thursday, according to ESPN. “I’ll be straight up with you guys. It’s tough to get hurt, but to see the way that … Drew [Lock] came in and how well he played and really just protected the football, I was really happy to see that.”
