SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - OCTOBER 11: Sam Darnold #14 of the Seattle Seahawks passes the ball against the San Francisco 49ers during the first quarter at Lumen Field on October 11, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

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The Seattle Seahawks have quarterback injury issue heading into Week 9 in the National Football League.

Seahawks quarterback, Sam Darnold will not play this week against the Arizona Cardinals.

Arnold’s injury could negatively impact the production of star receiver, Jaxson Smith-Njigba. More about that later.

The Seahawks play the Cardinals Sunday, November 8, in Seattle.

Darnold, 29, is considered to be week-to-week with a quadriceps injury, and a cracked rib.

seahawks.com indicated Darnold suffered the quadriceps injury late in the 4th quarter of the Seahawks 34-17 loss to the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football, November 2.

Darnold is scheduled to be replaced in the Cardinals game by Drew Lock.

Lock, who turns 30 November 10, is a big, 6-4, 228 pound quarterback.

Ironically, Lock is also fighting an injury. He has an elbow issue, and was limited in practices this week. He is listed as Questionable to start Week 9 by the Seahawks.

Jaxson Smith-Njigba may play very well if Lock starts. But, that’s a big if.

If Lock is unable to play, the third Seahawks quarterback option is rookie Jalen Milroe.

The 23-year-old Milroe was 3rd round selection of the Seahawks in the 2025 National Football League Draft.

profootballreference.com notes that Milroe was drafted out of Alabama,. He has has played briefly in three games in his career with Seattle.

Those three games came in 2025, when he made only three passing attempts, good for four yards.

Seattle Seahawks Quarterback Injury Ramifications:

The injury to Sam Darnold, and the potential unavailability of his backup Drew Lock, could have serious ramifications for the Seahawks passing offense.

In particular, their All Pro wide receiver, Jaxson Smith-Njigba may be negatively impacted by a different quarterback. Especially one he hasn’t worked with in game situations.

It is likely both Lock and Milroe worked with the 1st team Seahawks offense during the week’s practices. That will help.

Smith-Njiba, of JSN as he is often called, is the NFL leading receiver in total yards, with 985. Tee Higgins of the Cincinnati Bengals is next, with 726 total yards, which is a huge gap.

Smith-Njigba leads the NFL is total catches, with 64. The Dallas Cowboys DeeDee Lamb is next, with 60. That lead could be threatened in Week 9.

Smith-Njigba leads the NFL with 9 touchdowns, which is 3 ahead of Lamb.

Seattle Seahawks NFL Rankings This Season:

Offensively, espn.com lists the Seattle Seahawks having the 16th best yards per game in the NFL. They have gained 331.9 yards per game in their 8 games played. They trail their week 9 opponent, the Arizona Cardinals by two yards.

But, the Seahawks are a defensive juggernaut.

It may have to be their defense that controls the Week 9 game against the Cardinals.

espn.com lists the Seahawks defense as 1st in the NFL, yielding 250 total yards per game. The Minnesota Vikings are 2nd, with a yield of 271.6 yards per game. That’s a large gap.

In total passing yards this season, the Seahawks are 2nd in the NFL. The Vikings have yielded only 1.084 passing yards.

But…teams can run on the Seahawks. They have yielded 752 rushing yards this year, good for only 12th place in the NFL.

The Seahawks give up an average of 19.9 points per game. The Vikings lead the league, with an average yield of 13.3 points per game.

The Seahawks Week 9 opponent, the Arizona Cardinals give up an average of 29.8 points per game, which is worst in the league.

Seattle Seahawks Run Game:

The Arizona Cardinals give up an average of 122.1 yards rushing per game.

espn.com NFL team depth charts list the following Seahawks running backs:

Zach Charbonnet

Jadarian Price

George Holani

Emmanuel Wilson

The Seahawks depth at running back could provide them fresh legs throughout the week 9 game.

If the Seahawks are stymied in the passing game with a backup quarterback at the helm, the team could revert to the running backs to control the clock, and score points.

The Seahawks will have to try to win their Week 9 game against the Arizona Cardinals without quarterback Sam Darnold, and possibly without Drew Lock.

The Seattle Seahawks, and particularly Jaxson Smith-Njigba, could be negatively impacted by the loss of their No. 1 quarterback. But…the running game could save them.