Although he played all 66 of the Seahawks’ offensive snaps in a 17-3 win over the Cardinals on Sunday, quarterback Drew Lock did not get through the afternoon unscathed. Head coach Mike Macdonald said Lock suffered an oblique injury, leaving his status for Week 10 “up in the air” (via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times).
Lock only got the nod in Week 9 because the Seahawks were without starter Sam Darnold, who injured his quadriceps and ribs in a loss to the Bears on Monday. Making his third appearance and second start of the year, Lock went 19 of 28 for 175 yards and a touchdown.
Seattle has gone 3-0 in Lock’s appearances, and the 29-year-old has played an important role in each of those wins. So far this year, Lock has completed 71% of passes for 597 yards and four scores. He has gone without an interception over 76 attempts, whereas Darnold already has nine picks on 211 passes.
At 5-4, the Seahawks have gone just 2-4 when Darnold has played the majority of the game this season. Although Darnold has not matched the form he showed in 2024 with the Vikings or during the Seahawks’ Super Bowl-winning campaign last year, he isn’t in any danger of losing his job to Lock. However, Darnold may not be healthy enough to retake the reins next Sunday in Las Vegas.
“We’ll probably re-evaluate early in the week,” Macdonald said of Darnold (via Condotta). “But I’m assuming we’re probably going to have to make a decision who we’re going to get ready and how we’re going to do that. Drew’s situation we’ll have to evaluate as well.”
If Darnold and Lock are unable to play against the Raiders, the Seahawks would likely turn to 2025 third-round pick Jalen Milroe for his first career start. Milroe was an effective dual threat at Alabama, but he has yet to attempt a regular-season pass in the NFL. As things stand, Milroe and recent practice squad addition Adrian Martinez are Seattle’s only healthy QBs.
While the Seahawks are dealing with uncertainty under center, the good news for them is that they will face one of the NFL’s worst defenses in Week 10. The Raiders rank 30th in the league in yards and 31st in scoring, and they have given up at least 30 points in six straight games. They fell to 4-5 with a 38-17 loss to the 49ers on Sunday.