Letting it rip, Sam Darnold plays fearless through oblique injury for Seattle Seahawks

RENTON, Wash. - Sam Darnold was going to approach his oblique injury with the same conviction he approaches his play on the field for the Seattle Seahawks.

Let it rip.

"To be honest, once I came out in warmups and felt good throwing the ball I was confident about going out there and letting it rip," Darnold said on Wednesday. "Whatever happens throughout the game, whether I take a hit or not, it’s whatever happens, happens. If something tragic happens and I go down and can't get up, then it is what it is. Drew (Lock), Jalen (Milroe), they're ready to go."

If Darnold was going to play last week against the San Francisco 49ers just two days after tweaking an oblique muscle in practice, it wasn't going to be with a mindset of being overly cautious. He was going to play with whatever he had available.

"I was going to let it rip no matter what," he said after the game. "That was never a question in my mind. Because if I wasn't able to give it 100 percent then I think I would be doing this team a disservice. So I was going to let it rip, and if my body said, no, you're not going to do that, then I would have told my coaches and we would have gone from there."

That same mindset is a part of playing the position as well. You can't play scared and succeed in the NFL. It's about calculated risks and taking advantage of the opportunities when they're available.

"I'm going to turn it loose," Darnold said. "If it's there and we get the coverage for the right play and I feel like it's there, I'm going to let it rip. Just being smart with the football is always at a premium. I got to take care of the football at the end of the day, that's where my mind is at. If we get the right coverage and the right play and I feel like a guy is open, I'm going to let it rip."

Darnold did lead the NFL in turnovers by a quarterback this season with 14 interceptions and six lost fumbles. The four interceptions against the Los Angeles Rams in November are a big part of why Seattle lost that game. But the Seahawks went 14-3 in the regular season and easily dispatched the 49ers last week in the divisional round to move one victory away from the Super Bowl. That approach has equally served to benefit Seattle throughout the year as well.

Darnold and the Seahawks were confident he'd be able to play last week despite the oblique issue. Nevertheless, Darnold altered his pregame routine by throwing in the locker room to loosen up instead of coming out for early warmups. The goal was to not have to warm up a second time ahead of kickoff.

Once he did take the field,, he knew he'd be good to go. However, it took until he bounced back from a sack and bounced back on the next play with a 21-yard pass to Cooper Kupp for his head coach to relax a bit.

"That was great," Macdonald said on Monday. "I was nervous (with) him going down there and taking off. Yeah, then he ripped the 7-cut (corner route) to Coop. That was awesome. At that point, I think I exhaled a little bit."

Darnold will still have to deal with the injury this week with the team managing his workload. He was officially limited in practice on Wednesday and isn't expected to get all the reps throughout the week. But it is important to get some practice work in, and he appears physically capable of doing so.

"Sam continues to get better," Macdonald said. "He's not going to be a full-go the whole week, but we have a plan; we're going to work through it; see how the day goes; then kind of take it day-by-day and take it to tomorrow. But he won't be like throwing every ball every play for the whole week."

 For his part, Darnold said he's doing well coming out of the win against the 49ers, where he completed 12-of-17 passes for 124 yards and a touchdown with no turnovers.

"Feeling really good," he said. "Just attacking rehab these last couple days. Obviously,will be throughout the week. Like I said, just got to continue to prepare and get my body right for Sunday."

George Holani designated to return from injured reserve.

The Seattle Seahawks opened the window for running back George Holani to return to practice, adding a possible depth option to the mix with Zach Charbonnet out for the year with a knee injury.

Holani has been out since November with a hamstring injury sustained in the team's Week 12 win over the Tennessee Titans. He's been eligible to return to practice for the last few weeks, but the team elected not to bring him back to practice until now.

"Feels great to be back with the guys. It's been a while, so excited to get back out there," Holani said.

Holani said he's been healthy since his required four-week stint on injured reserve came to an end in mid-December. He's been working out harder in the weight room over the last few weeks while waiting for the chance to get back on the field.

"Just staying ready, patient," Holani said. "But yeah, I'm good to go now."

Holani is the last player Seattle can return from injured reserve this season. Their allotment of eight through the regular season, with two more available in the playoffs, is now exhausted.

The ten total for the year includes Holani, fullback Robbie Ouzts, guard Christian Haynes, safety Julian Love, nose tackle Jarran Reed, wide receiver Dareke Young, center Jalen Sundell, tight end Eric Saubert, tight end Elijah Arroyo and linebacker Chazz Surratt. It also officially ends the chances for wide receiver Tory Horton to return this year, which head coach Mike Macdonald already said was very unlikely a couple of weeks ago.

Holani has 22 carries for 73 yards and a touchdown in 11 games played this season, though he only saw offensive snaps in four of those games.

"George is in great shape," Macdonald said. "Working his tail off. Excited to get him out there. Haven't seen him practice in a minute, so it’ll be fun."

The team will need to add Holani to the active roster to play on Sunday, but that could come when Charbonnet is placed on injured reserve. If they want to active either Arroyo or Surratt, another move would be required.

Three tackles held out of practice, including Charles Cross.

Someone will play left tackle for the Seahawks on Sunday. Exactly whom that will be isn't obvious at the moment.

All three players that have played at left tackle this season for the Seahawks were held out of practice on Wednesday: Charles Cross, Josh Jones, and Amari Kight.

Cross didn't practice due to a foot injury from Saturday's win over the 49ers, while Jones and Kight were both held out with knee injuries. Cross did particiapte in the team's walkthrough, but was held out of practice.

Jones was dealing with a knee injury heading into the regular season finale against the 49ers, and was ruled out for the playoff meeting between the two teams. Kight played 17 snaps in relief of Cross on Saturday night.

They were the only three players to miss practice for the Seahawks on Wednesday.

Along with Darnold, linebacker Uchenna Nwosu (hamstring), fullback Robbie Ouzts (neck), and guard Bryce Cabeldue (knee) were limited. Linebacker DeMarcus Lawrence, wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and defensive end Leonard Willams were also limited for rest.

Meanwhile, linebacker Byron Young (knee) and cornerback Emmanuel Forbes (shoulder) did not practice for the Rams.

Injury Report:

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