The Seattle Seahawks are hosting the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday, and there are concerns about the health of quarterback Sam Darnold. Head coach Mike Macdonald reported that Darnold emerged from Seattle's 41-6 victory over the San Francisco 49ers without any additional problems after injuring his oblique the previous week in practice.
Sam Darnold participating at the start of #Seahawks practice 3 days before NFC championship vs the Rams.
He threw some at the start of practice—something he did not do last week from Thurs to Sat pregame of divisional win over 49ers bc of his oblique injury. @thenewstribune pic.twitter.com/0HfhzYt2a1
— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) January 22, 2026
Darnold is certainly expected to play against the Rams, and he was a participant in practice Thursday with the rest of his team. In addition to going through stretching exercises and warmups, Darnold reportedly threw the football at practice. Drew Lock is Seattle's backup quarterback and would get the call if Darnold is forced out of the game.
Darnold has been an excellent fit for the Seahawks as their QB1 during his first season with the team. He emerged as a dynamic quarterback in 2024 with the Minnesota Vikings, but that team did not see fit to sign him in the offseason and he decided to join the Seahawks after signing free agent contract.
The Seahawks are preparing for their third meeting with the Rams this season. The two NFC West rivals split their first two games, with the Rams emerging with a 21-19 victory in Week 11 in Los Angeles while the Seahawks came through with a come-from-behind 38-37 triumph in Week 16. That game saw the Seahawks rally from a 16-point deficit in the 4th quarter to send the game to overtime.
Darnold threw a TD pass to superstar wideout Jaxon Smith-Njigba in overtime and then hit tight end Eric Saubert with the game-winning 2-point conversion.
That victory went a long way towards helping the Seahawks win the NFC West title and gain the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.
