Is Sam Darnold Playing Today? (Injury Update, Betting Impact for Seahawks vs. Cardinals in NFL Week 2)

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (glute) has been ruled out for Week 2 against the Arizona Cardinals, paving the way for former second-round pick Drew Lock to start.

Lock played most of Seattle’s season opener against the New England Patriots after Darnold went down on the opening drive, throwing for 187 yards and a score in a 13-10 win. The Seattle offense wasn’t sharp, but Lock did enough in the game to lead the defending champs to a 1-0 start.

Darnold’s injury is expected to sideline him for around four weeks, though it’s possible he could return sooner than that.

Garafolo: Sam Darnold (glute) looking at "about" a 4 week return to play.

Could potentially be a little bit sooner than that.
— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) September 15, 2026

NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported that the team’s Week 4 battle against the Los Angeles Chargers is “the most likely target” for the quarterback to return to action.

This week, Sports Illustrated spoke to several oddsmakers to understand the odds movement in the Seahawks vs. Cardinals matchup, and figure out just how much Darnold is worth to the spread.

Seattle was a 10-point favorite in the lookahead line for this NFC West battle, but that has dropped considerably after the Week 1 results. Arizona upset the Chargers in Week 1, which played into this line moving, but the Seahawks went from 10-point favorites to 4.5-point favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook.

“Darnold's worth probably around five points,” Johnny Avello, Director of Race and Sports Operations for DraftKings Sportsbook, told Sports Illustrated. “We opened that game Seattle -10, and with Arizona looking much better, we reopened it at Seattle -4.5. With Drew Lock getting a full week to prepare off a few extra days with Seattle playing that past Wednesday, that's worth a little bit extra also. The bettors still like the Cards in this one right now, with the line now dropping down to four for the home opener. So, they like what they saw from the Cards last week; maybe they didn't like what they saw from Seattle, although they won the game, but they were a little bit sloppy in the second half.”

Arizona has continued to gain ground in the market, settling as a 3.5-point underdog at home ahead of Sunday’s matchup.

While DraftKings believes that Darnold is worth about five points to the spread, Fanatics Sportsbook values the Super Bowl champion quarterback a little less.

“We initially had this one uh down as a three-point drop from Darnold to Lock,” Ty Gour, Sports Trader at Fanatics Sportsbook, told Sports Illustrated. “Lock being a capable NFL backup with starting experience. So, this game opened up at 8.5 before in the lookahead, and then once Darnold went down, that line dropped to 5.5 right off the bat.”

Darnold has not been placed on injured reserve by Seattle, a sign that the team expects him back in less than four weeks. The defending champs take on the Washington Commanders in Week 3 and the Chargers in Week 4.

Seattle was the No. 1 seed in the NFC last season with Darnold at the helm, and it’s currenlty hoping that Lock can hold the fort until the former top-five pick is able to return. Oddsmakers have not adjusted the Seahawks’ odds to win the Super Bowl (still at +1100), which is a good sign for Darnold’s chances of returning and playing most of the 2026 season.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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