Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold will start Sunday’s NFC Championship Game, but he and Drew Lock split reps at practice last week due to Darnold’s lingering oblique injury.
Darnold attempted only short and medium throws at practice and did not, as one source described, “let it rip.” He is saving that level of throwing effort for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams.
Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said Wednesday that Darnold’s throwing would be curtailed as he continued to manage the injury. Macdonald said Friday that everything went according to plan in practice with Darnold, and that he was getting better by the day.
The Seahawks also have questions at running back. With Zach Charbonnet out due to a torn ACL, Kenneth Walker III now will become their workhorse running back. Both Cam Akers and George Holani are expected to be used in backup roles, a source told ESPN, with some packages for each player.
Darnold suffered the injury in practice two days before Seattle beat the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round. While his condition has improved, it’s still a factor.
Darnold plans to receive a pain-killing injection before Sunday’s game in Seattle, according to sources. The two-time Pro Bowler also received an injection last Saturday before completing 12 of 17 passes for 124 yards and a touchdown in Seattle’s 41-6 victory.
Lock replaced Darnold with about nine minutes remaining last Saturday but did not attempt a pass over Seattle’s final two series. Lock also took first-team reps in the practices leading up to the game against the Niners.
Darnold did not to take the field for the first time until about 45 minutes before kickoff last weekend, instead throwing in the locker room as part of an altered warmup routine. Darnold said his pregame routine should be similar Sunday.
ESPN’s Brady Henderson contributed to this report.
