The Seattle Seahawks are on track to have a fully healthy Sam Darnold when they take the field in the Super Bowl.
The team’s star quarterback had been hampered by an oblique injury during the off week between the conference championships and Super Bowl, but got a positive update on Darnold’s status on Wednesday.
Sam Darnold Feeling Good After Injury Scare
Darnold had been dealing with an oblique injury during the team’s playoff games, shaking off the injury to throw three touchdown passes in a win over the Los Angeles Rams to reach the Super Bowl. He was limited in practices leading up to the Super Bowl, but told reporters on Wednedsay that he’s back to full health.
“It feels really good,” Darnold said, via ESPN. “Definitely the time off has helped a little bit. I’m always just going to take it one step at a time, do my rehab and do everything I need to do to make sure it feels great going into practice and going into the game … on Sunday.”
Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald added that the team has been careful with their approach to Darnold, making sure not to aggravate the injury in practice.
“Sam’s right on schedule,” Macdonald said. “So we’ve had this plan here over the last X amount of weeks, and it varies every day. And today he had a great day, so we’re right on schedule.”
The Seahawks coach added that Darnold is ready for the Super Bowl.
“He’s in a great spot. I know he’s really confident,” Macdonald said.
Darnold has been focused on the game, setting aside questions about his unusual path to the big game. After joining the New York Jets as a first-round pick in 2018, he watched the other quarterbacks of his class — Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Baker Mayfield — find more success. Darnold was pushed out of New York and bounced around the league before landing with the Minnesota Vikings last season.
Though Darnold led the Vikings to 14 wins, the team chose to move on from him on the offseason and he ended up signing with the Seahawks.
When asked if a Super Bowl win would vindicate him, Darnold shied away from the narrative.
“It doesn’t really come down to that for me,” Darnold said, via the team’s official website. “It’s always just been about putting in hard work, every single day. Hard work and all the dedication and hours I put in in the offseason, during the season, it leads to this moment. That’s the mindset I have, and really the mindset I’ve had my entire career.”
Seahawks Dealing With Other Injuries
While Darnold has been trending in the right direction, the Seahawks did get a setback during practice on Wednesday when defensive back Nick Emmanwori suffered an ankle injury during a drill.
Macdonald said the team would be evaluating the injury before determining how to handle Emmanwori for the rest of the week.
“He had an ankle today,” Macdonald. “We brought him in to look at it, and we’ll kind of go from here and figure out what are the next steps.”
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