INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 16: Sam Darnold #14 and head coach Mike Macdonald of the Seattle Seahawks looks on during the second quarter against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium on November 16, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Harry How / Getty Images)
RENTON, Wash. - Head coach Mike Macdonald shared the optimism of quarterback Sam Darnold that he would be able to play for the Seattle Seahawks in Saturday's NFC Divisional Round playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers despite an oblique injury sustained on Thursday.
"Heard what he said yesterday to you guys. I see it the same way. We're listing him as questionable. We're really optimistic he's going to be able to play," Macdonald said.
Darnold explained on Thursday that he felt something early in practice while throwing passes to receivers. They chose to shut it down and be cautious as Drew Lock took the practice reps the rest of the day.
"Just didn't want to push it," Darnold said. "You know, wasn't the day to push it. So that was it. So just came inside, got some rehab, and feel like I'll be ready to go for Saturday."
Macdonald admitted there's a chance Darnold wouldn't be able to play come game time on Saturday, but they don't expect that to be the case.
"I think right now he's confident he's going to be able to go do his thing at 100 percent, and we are too," Macdonald said. "With these things something could change between now and then or happen in-game. We'll just have to roll with it.
"I don't think we would put him out there if he couldn't do his job. He's going to be able to go do his job."
Darnold has only been on the injury report one other week this season. He was listed with a chest injury coming out of the bye week after taking a big hit in the win over the Houston Texans. However, Darnold was a full participant all week and had no game designation status.
Darnold said he's never had an oblique issue before and said he felt it was a very low percentage chance that he wouldn't be able to play.
"Very low percentage. Probably closer to zero," he said.
Lock would play in place of Darnold if he was unable to go. Rookie Jalen Milroe would then become the backup quarterback to Lock if Darnold was ruled out. However, that doesn't appear likely at this point.
Milroe has technically been inactive since the Week 5 loss to Tampa Bay where he lost a fumble. However, the third quarterback rule allows for an extra quarterback to become available in an emergency if the first two are ruled out with injuries.
Milroe likely remains in that role on Saturday unless it's determined pre-game that Darnold can't play. That decision will need to be made 90 minutes ahead of kickoff when the inactive list is due, meaning 3:30 p.m. in Seattle.
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold expecting to play against 49ers despite oblique injury
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold was a surprise addition to Thursday's final injury report due to an oblique injury, but he's confident he'll be able to play Saturday against the San Francisco 49ers despite being listed as questionable.
The Source: Information in this story came from FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
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