Fantasy Football Injury News: Sam Darnold Ruled Out Week 10, Drew Lock Expected to Start for Seahawks
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Sam Darnold is still hurt with cited quadriceps and rib injuries. As of Monday afternoon, he has been ruled out for Week 10 against the Las Vegas Raiders. In Darnold's place, Drew Lock will get the nod.
Lock has dealt with injuries himself, including an oblique injury and tendinitis in his throwing elbow. Lock played through it in Week 9, and the team plans to use him as the signal-caller in the upcoming game.
Fantasy Football Impact
The injuries are certainly Lock's worry. Some speculated the Seahawks could go with sophomore quarterback Jalen Milroe. But that will not happen, and the Seahawks will trust Lock to lead the Seahawks to their sixth win of the season this Sunday.
Lock held up quite well in Week 9, completing 19 of 28 pass attempts for 175 yards, 1 touchdown, and zero interceptions. However, the Seahawks were expected to go run-heavy amid the injuries, and they did, running the ball 52% of the time.
We are definitely not looking at a fantasy-viable quarterback with Lock. With Darnold out, Jaxon Smith-Njigba is no longer a weekly top-3 fantasy wide receiver.
In Week 9, Smith-Njigba caught 7 of 10 targets for 51 yards on a 96% route rate. The volume was there; just the output was lacking, averaging 7.3 Yards per Reception.
Darnold has thrown the ball at least 32 times in every full start this season. In fact, Darnold is averaging 39.5 passing attempts per game. Whereas Lock not only had 28 attempts in Week 9, but over three games in 2026, Lock is averaging merely 25.3 attempts per game.
Fantasy managers can expect anywhere from a 20-40% drop in passing volume from Darnold to Lock. That will directly translate into Smith-Njigba's fantasy devaluation. Rather than being a top-3 wide receiver in fantasy football, he may fall into the WR5-10 range in the week ahead.
Given Smith-Njigba's large role in this passing offense, I don't see any other pass-catcher as fantasy-viable. That includes AJ Barner, who scored twice on Sunday. Barner is averaging 2.5 receptions per game.
This suggests the Seahawks' Week 10 offense should lean on the run. Zach Charbonnet appears to carry most of the rushing workload, having outrun primary back Jadarian Price 16 times to 9 in Week 9.
Sam Darnold Injury Update
Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald on @SeattleSports said the Seahawks got a "good exam for Drew. He’s dealing with an oblique, and I think it’s something we can manage." Said Sam Darnold will be out another week.
— John Boyle (@johnpboyle) November 9, 2026
The Seahawks will head into their bye week after Week 10, giving Darnold about a month to recover from his injuries. There is optimism that Darnold will suit up as the starter for that game.
#Patriots AJ Brown - Lean Wk 12 return. Wk 11 = bye. Knee = prone to flare-ups. Best odds for late season health = calming it down before return#Seahawks Sam Darnold - Given 2 injuries + early season glute, lean toward missing Wk 10, returning Wk 12 (Wk 11 = bye)
— Deepak Chona, MD. SMA (@SportMDAnalysis) November 9, 2026
4/8
The rib injury seems to be the bigger issue, and the Seahawks are trying not to make it worse. Especially with Darnold's poor play this season, moving to Lock isn't the worst option.
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Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.