Darnold could return Week 3

Seattle's QB left the season opener after one series but may be back in 17 days against Washington. Ian Rapoport says he'll probably miss one or two games.

“There is at least a chance he plays in that game”

Not a hip joint problem

The Seahawks initially called it a hip injury but later revealed it's a soft-tissue glute injury. His hip socket is completely unaffected.

“he hurt his butt, which is actually a great outcome because in the hip socket, it seems to be absolutely fine”

Looked worse than it was

The injury appeared serious on the field, leading to internet speculation about a Tua-like hip injury. Tests showed it's just a pulled muscle.

“it looked awful, and then the actual outcome, you get all the tests and it's like, eh, pulled a muscle”

Not like Tua's injury

Tua Tagovailoa suffered a season-ending dislocated hip and fracture at Alabama in 2019. Darnold's injury is nowhere near that severe.

“Everyone on the internet is basically assuming he's got like the Tua (Tagovailoa) injury. This was not that”

Conservative estimate: four weeks

Mike Garafolo believes the Seahawks are looking at about a four-week return. That would mean missing games against Arizona, Washington, and the Chargers.