Update emerges on Sam Darnold’s injury status vs. 49ers

Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald has shared an injury update on Sam Darnold ahead of the team’s Saturday clash with the San Francisco 49ers.

Reports emerged Thursday indicating that the Seahawks quarterback was questionable for the Divisional Round matchup due to an oblique injury. Macdonald provided some clarity on Darnold’s status the next day, echoing Darnold’s sentiment that he still expects to play through the injury.

“Talking about Sam, I heard what he said yesterday to you guys; I see it the same way,” Macdonald told reporters, via ESPN’s Brady Henderson. “We’re listing him as questionable. Really optimistic he’s going to be able to play. Right now we’re going through all the protocol … just out of caution to make sure we’re ready to go. We’ll test it out tomorrow and kind of make the final decision, but again, we’re optimistic he’s going to play.”

Macdonald added that Seahawks backup QB Drew Lock is “ready to go” and is “doing a great job” staying ready in case Darnold cannot take the field.

Darnold led the Seahawks to a 13-3 win over the Niners in their season finale to decide who gets the No. 1 seed in the NFC. He went 20/26 in the contest for 198 yards.

While the Seahawks remain optimistic that Darnold will take the field on Saturday, not everyone is convinced that the injury is as serious as the team is making it out to be. At least one pundit believes that Darnold is peddling it as a potential excuse in case he underperforms in the postseason.