Seahawks Manage Drew Lock's Elbow Injury Ahead of Week 9 Game

Sam Darnold will not play Sunday against Arizona, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said, leaving the 4-4 Seahawks to rely on backup Drew Lock, who is working through an elbow injury. The news lands the Seahawks in a familiar spot in 2026: Darnold went down with a glute injury in the season opener against New England and is now sidelined again.

The stakes are concrete. Seattle sits at 4-4, and Arizona has won two of the last three games while rolling out Gardner Minshew as its new starter. With Darnold out, Drew Lock steps back into the starting role he has already filled twice this season — and he will do it while managing his own elbow ailment.

Drew Lock Expected to Start Week 9 After Sam Darnold Injury | Seahawks News

Lock’s Elbow Limits His Throws, but He Has Already Proven He Can Win

Lock has been limited in practice the past two weeks and was inactive as the emergency third quarterback in each of the last two games, with Jalen Milroe dressing as the backup. Macdonald was careful about promising a full workload.

“He’s able to throw. How much? We’re working through that right now,” Macdonald said. “He’s going to throw the ball throughout the week, but we’re just going to manage it. “He’s not going to take 8,000 throws.”

The contrast with Darnold’s own path back is instructive. Before Seattle’s Divisional Round win over the 49ers, Darnold barely threw at all because of an oblique injury; Lock’s situation is different, Macdonald noted, because he will throw throughout the week in managed doses.

🚨JUST IN: Seattle Seahawks Get BREAKING & BAD News On Sam Darnold

When Lock has played, the numbers have been strong. He has started one game this season and played almost all of two others, taking over after Darnold’s glute injury in the opener and then starting Seattle’s Week 2 win at Arizona. Across those appearances he completed 72.9 percent of his passes for 422 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions — a 127.3 passer rating. That Week 2 road win in Arizona, 19 of 26 for 235 yards and three touchdowns, came against the same Cardinals team Seattle faces Sunday.

Milroe Splits Reps as Seahawks Weigh Adding Another Quarterback

Because Lock is not 100 percent, Seattle is preparing Milroe to be ready Sunday as well. The two will split practice reps for some portion of the week, Macdonald said.

“They’ll be splitting reps for a certain amount of time,” Macdonald said. “We just have to take it day by day at this point, but Jalen will take some practice reps as well.”

Macdonald also left the door open to adding another quarterback to the depth chart behind Lock and Milroe, saying the team “might be adding a quarterback.” With a slow practice day making evaluation difficult, the coach said the staff has a plan for Lock to get live throws later in the week and will keep working day by day to find the best path to Sunday.

Sunday’s outcome will hinge on how much Lock can throw and how ready Milroe is to play.