Seahawks’ Sam Darnold hurts oblique but expects to face 49ers

RENTON, Wash. — Seattle Seahawks Pro Bowl quarterback Sam Darnold expects to play Saturday in the team’s divisional round playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers despite an oblique injury that has him listed as questionable.

The injury occurred Thursday. Darnold said he “felt a little something” in the oblique on his left side while throwing during a routes-on-air period, and that he left practice as a precautionary measure.

“Just didn’t want to push it,” Darnold said. “Wasn’t the day to push it. So that was it. Just came inside, got some rehab, and I feel like I’ll be ready to go for Saturday.”

The Seahawks listed Darnold as a limited participant.

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The only other Seattle players with game designations are tight end Elijah Arroyo, linebacker Chazz Surratt and tackle Josh Jones, all backups who have been ruled out. Left tackle Charles Cross and safety Coby Bryant will return after missing three and two games, respectively.

Darnold was asked what percent of him thinks he might not play Saturday.

“Very low percentage,” he said. “Probably closer to zero.”

Veteran Drew Lock is Darnold’s backup. Jalen Milroe, a rookie third-round pick, is Seattle’s QB3.

Darnold said he has never dealt with an oblique injury and that he’ll get treatment between now and game time, adding: “We’ll attack it the next couple days and be ready to go for Saturday.”

Darnold, signed by the Seahawks in March after they traded Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders, is set to make the second playoff start of his eight-year NFL career. He echoed a sentiment shared earlier this week by coach Mike Macdonald about not getting lost in the hype of the postseason.

“We’re treating it [as] just another week, another game,” Darnold said. “… We’ve got such great guys in that locker room, mature leaders at every position group. So everyone’s just ready to go, attacking the week, per usual, and getting ready to go up against a really good 49ers team that’s been rolling, and we’re excited to go up against them.”

Darnold and the Seahawks beat the 49ers in Week 18 at Levi’s Stadium to win the NFC West and secure the conference’s top seed. With that win, Seattle finished the regular season 14-3, the same record Darnold posted last year with the Minnesota Vikings on his way to his first career Pro Bowl selection.

Darnold made the Pro Bowl again this year, completing 67.7% of his attempts for 4,048 yards and 25 touchdown passes while also leading all NFL players with 20 turnovers.

Darnold lost his playoff debut last January when he was sacked nine times in a wild-card loss to the Los Angeles Rams. He said the Week 18 win over the 49ers felt like a playoff game because of everything that was at stake and how loud the crowd was at Levi’s Stadium.

The Seahawks will have home-field advantage in the rematch.

“Being able to use cadence is going to be huge, and then having our 12s there making noise when they’re on offense is crucial,” Darnold said. “So, it’s going to be an awesome atmosphere and something we’re all looking forward to.”

This will be the first playoff game at Lumen Field with fans in the stands since January 2017. The Seahawks’ only other home playoff game since then was at the end of the 2020 COVID-19 season, when they lost in the wild-card round to the Rams in an empty stadium.

“We know Lumen’s going to be rocking,” Darnold said. “It’s an important game. We don’t get it twisted at all. We understand the implications of the game. The playoffs, it’s awesome to be playing in games like this, especially in January. But yeah, we’re treating this week as another week and we’re excited about it.”