Quarterback Sam Darnold will miss the Seattle Seahawks' Week 9 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals due to a quad injury, coach Mike Macdonald told reporters. Drew Lock will make his second start of the season in his place.
Lock is also dealing with an elbow injury, which will be monitored throughout the week. Seattle has Jalen Milroe as Lock's backup.
"He's able to throw. How much, we're working through that right now," Macdonald said about Lock.
The Seahawks are coming off a 34-17 loss to the Chicago Bears on Monday night in which Darnold completed 17 of his 34 pass attempts for 188 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
Lock started one game earlier this season when Darnold was sidelined by the soft-tissue injury suffered during the Week 1 victory against the New England Patriots. Coincidentally, that start also came against the Cardinals in Arizona. Lock completed 19 of 26 passes for 235 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-7 victory. The Seahawks out-gained the Cardinals, 381 yards to 151 yards, while Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught nine passes for 155 yards and three touchdowns.
Darnold has not played well since Seattle's Super Bowl run last season. He's 3-4 as the starter, averaging just 211 passing yards per game, and has thrown 10 touchdowns compared to nine interceptions. Darnold's 23 interceptions since 2025 are tied for most in the NFL, and his -0.67 EPA per dropback when pressured ranks last in the NFL.
When this news broke, CBS Sports analyst and former NFL quarterback Ben DiNucci said that Lock actually may give the 4-4 Seahawks a better chance to win this game.
"Drew Lock might give the Seattle Seahawks a better chance to win at the quarterback position." @B_DiNucci6 on Sam Darnold being ruled out vs Cardinals this week. #justfootball pic.twitter.com/jvUDLc4yiO
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) November 4, 2026
Seahawks QB comparison this season
Sam DarnoldDrew LockCompletion percentage
60%
73%
Yards per attempt
7.0
8.8
TD-INT
10-9
4-0
Passer rating
79.5
127.3
Lock is a former second-round pick of the Denver Broncos in the 2019 NFL Draft out of Missouri. He's 11-18 in his career as a starter and originally came over to Seattle in 2022 as part of the Russell Wilson trade. He spent the 2024 season with the New York Giants before returning to Seattle to back up Darnold.
The Cardinals are also starting a new quarterback this week, as Mike LaFleur has benched Jacoby Brissett for Gardner Minshew. "Minshew Mania" made its appearance last week, as the journeyman came off the bench and threw three touchdowns in the fourth quarter against the Dallas Cowboys to help erase a 14-point deficit and win in overtime, 33-30.
