The Aporia · Seahawks' Sam Darnold hopes to return from glute injury and play against the Commanders

Seahawks' Sam Darnold hopes to return from glute injury and play against the Commanders

Read the original at Toronto Star ↗

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Peterson, A. M. (2026, September 25). Seahawks' Sam Darnold hopes to return from glute injury and play against the Commanders. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/football/seahawks-sam-darnold-hopes-to-return-from-glute-injury-and-play-against-the-commanders/article_f4da2929-1d20-5f49-985e-6f0193eee69a.html

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Quick Summary

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold is aiming to recover from a glute injury in time to play against the Washington Commanders on Sunday. After missing practice since injuring his glute during the season opener, Darnold practiced Wednesday for the first time and expressed optimism about playing this weekend. Coach Mike Macdonald indicated that the team could decide by Friday whether Darnold or backup Drew Lock will start in the game. Darnold led the Seahawks to a Super Bowl title last season but was sidelined after getting sacked in the opener, leading initial concerns of a potentially long-term injury.

Written by AI on 2026-09-25, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Sam Darnold, quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks, is set to return from a glute injury for Sunday's game against the Washington Commanders. The 29-year-old suffered the injury in Week 1 when he was sacked during Seattle’s season-opening win over the New England Patriots and did not play in Week 2, which the team won with backup quarterback Drew Lock leading them to victory.

Coach Mike Macdonald announced Friday that Darnold is fit to start against the Commanders despite initial concerns about a potential long-term injury. The QB practiced fully Thursday and Friday after first returning to practice Wednesday for the first time since getting hurt on September 10th.

Darnold’s return comes as a medical surprise, considering he missed only one game last season while leading the Seahawks to a Super Bowl title. His absence in Week 2 saw Lock take over with strong performances against both the Patriots and Cardinals. Darnold aims to gradually increase his practice intensity ahead of Sunday's crucial matchup.

The Seahawks’ defense is expected to support Darnold, allowing him more conservative play-calling while potentially unleashing some big passes for wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Washington’s backup quarterback Marcus Mariota will face the challenge without their star QB Jayden Daniels.

Written for “Sam Darnold Returns for Seahawks” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 7% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

QB Sam Darnold to return for the Seahawks against the Commanders following glute injury Same event

Toronto Star

Hedges 0 of 27 claims Outlet record 64/100

Sam Darnold to start for Seahawks in Week 3 after season-opening injury in stunner Different event

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Hedges 2 of 14 claims Outlet record 66/100

“The articles describe Darnold's progress towards returning from injury but report different days and stages of his recovery, indicating they cover separate updates rather than a single event.”

Seahawks vs. Commanders prediction, odds: Sam Darnold’s return continues hot start for defending champs Different event

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“The articles discuss different aspects of Sam Darnold's recovery and upcoming game but do not describe the same specific incident.”

Here’s where to watch Seahawks vs. Commanders: Start time, livestream Different event

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Hedges 0 of 21 claims Outlet record 66/100

“Article A discusses Darnold's potential return from injury for an upcoming game against the Commanders, while Article B provides details about where to watch the actual game between Seahawks and Commanders, including player statuses but describing a different specific event.”

Seahawks expect QB Sam Darnold to be back at practice this week Different event

Toronto Star

Hedges 2 of 28 claims Outlet record 64/100

“While both articles discuss Sam Darnold's potential return to practice and possible play against the Washington Commanders, they refer to different points in time regarding his recovery process.”

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

2 of 29 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

64/100

Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Sports

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-09-25 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Who wrote this

Anne M. Peterson

23 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 Another 28-yard pass from Darnold to Smith-Njigba got the Seahawks to the Kansas City 1 in the closing seconds of the half, but Darnold was intercepted by Nohl Williams in the back of the end zone.

2026-10-26 · assertive framing · Jaxon Smith-Njigba has 150 receiving yards and a score in the Seahawks' 20-3 win over the Chiefs

🔮 There had been speculation that Charbonnet would return in time to play Sunday against the undefeated Chiefs and former Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III.

2026-10-24 · assertive framing · Seattle RB Chabonnet won't return this weekend against the Chiefs

🔮 As the Seahawks prepare to face former teammate Kenneth Walker III, they may be getting some help with their own running game.

2026-10-22 · assertive framing · The Seahawks prepare to face former teammate Kenneth Walker III while Zach Charbonnet could return

🔮 He, too, is hopeful the Seahawks will turn things around.

2026-10-17 · assertive framing · Turnovers keep piling up for the Seahawks, who are looking to rebound after losing 2 straight games

🔮 The current Ebola outbreak was declared in mid-May after spreading in a remote part of eastern Congo.

2026-10-17 · assertive framing · Zambian NWSL players must wait to return from international duty

🔮 When Damian Lillard tore his left Achilles tendon during the playoffs two seasons ago, he recalls that a television pundit said the injury would be the end of his career.

2026-10-14 · assertive framing · Damian Lillard is back on the court for the Trail Blazers with something to prove

🔮 Leonard Williams played despite a low ankle sprain that kept him out of practice for two days last week. Key Number 5 — Jason Myers made all five of his field goal attempts Sunday, all from more than 40 yards out. Next steps

2026-10-12 · assertive framing · The Seahawks are struggling with turnovers as they try to defend their title

🔮 “When your number gets called, for Ty to step up in that moment, when Nico couldn’t go, and he put himself in a spot where he was revealed for knowing our run game, knowing what to get us into.

2026-10-11 · assertive framing · No. 21 UCLA downs turnover-plagued No. 13 Oregon 17-15 to remain undefeated

🔮 “What I saw from our players, that will, that never say die attitude that they have,” Harbaugh said.

2026-10-05 · assertive framing · Emanuel Wilson sparks Seahawks past Chargers 30-23, handing Los Angeles a fourth straight loss

🔮 SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle Seahawks rookie running back Jadarian Price was ruled out of Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers and will miss at least the next three games because of a chest injury.

2026-10-04 · assertive framing · Seahawks place rookie RB Jadarian Price on injured reserve while Julian Love returns

Also by Anne M. Peterson

Jaxon Smith-Njigba has 150 receiving yards and a score in the Seahawks' 20-3 win over the Chiefs

2026-10-26 · Toronto Star

Oregon fires offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer after a loss to Illinois

2026-10-25 · Toronto Star

Seattle RB Chabonnet won't return this weekend against the Chiefs

2026-10-24 · Toronto Star

The Seahawks prepare to face former teammate Kenneth Walker III while Zach Charbonnet could return

2026-10-22 · Toronto Star

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 23 articles by Anne M. Peterson →

Topics

Commanders New England Seahawks Seattle Seahawks Washington

Subjects

Darnold PERSON · 11× Seahawks ORG · 5× Lock PERSON · 3× Commanders ORG · 1× Drew Lock PERSON · 1× Mike Macdonald PERSON · 1× New England ORG · 1× Sam Darnold PERSON · 1× Seattle Seahawks ORG · 1× Washington GPE · 1×

Narrative

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold is taking his recovery from a glute injury day by day, but said Thursday he hopes to return for Sunday’s game at Washington.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-25

🔮 He said the Seahawks could determine by Friday whether to start Darnold or backup Drew Lock against the Commanders.

2026-09-25 · Toronto Star

Seahawks' Sam Darnold hopes to return from glute injury and play against the Commanders · assertive framing

Claims (29 extracted, 2 hedged)

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold is taking his recovery from a glute injury day by day, but said Thursday he hopes to return for Sunday’s game at Washington. asserted

he → take → Washington

Darnold practiced Wednesday for the first time since he was injured on the first series of the Seahawks’ season-opening win over New England. asserted

he → practice → England

“Feeling good,” Darnold told reporters Thursday. asserted

Darnold → feel → reporters

Continuing to balance the reps and do everything I need to get ready.” asserted

I → continue → everything

Coach Mike Macdonald said a day earlier that Darnold had returned to practice but was not taking all of the first-team snaps. asserted

Darnold → say → snaps

He said the Seahawks could determine by Friday whether to start Darnold or backup Drew Lock against the Commanders. uncertain

Seahawks → say → Commanders

“I’m striving for that,” he said. asserted

he → strive → that

The plan is for Darnold to gradually increase his practice reps each day. asserted

Darnold → increase → reps

He also has to get in the mindset of “not worrying about the hip at all. Just going out there, playing football, playing fast.” asserted

He → have → football

Lock took over in the opener and helped the Seahawks to a 13-10 victory over the Patriots. asserted

Lock → take → Patriots

He started last Sunday’s 31-7 win at Arizona. asserted

He → start → Arizona

Darnold did not miss a game last season as he led the Seahawks to a Super Bowl title. asserted

he → miss → title

He threw for 4,048 yards with 25 touchdowns and 14 interceptions as Seattle won a franchise-record 14 regular-season games. asserted

Seattle → throw → games

He admittedly was worried after he was sacked by New England’s Dre’Mont Jones in the opener. asserted

he → sack → opener

Darnold sought treatment on the sidelines before limping to the locker room. asserted

Darnold → seek → room

“There’s some things that happen on the field. asserted

that → ’ → field

You get banged up a bit. asserted

You → bang → ?

Something feels weird and you feel weird coming off to the sideline and you’re able to shake it off after a couple of minutes. asserted

you → feel → minutes

The pain lingered and I wasn’t able to throw. asserted

I → linger → ?

That was the main concern,” he said. asserted

he → say → ?

Darnold was taken to a hospital, where he watched the final minutes of the game on his phone, concerned about how long he’d be out. asserted

he → take → phone

At first, it was believed that Darnold had a hip injury, but an MRI later ruled that out. asserted

MRI → believe → that

“It had a huge impact of potentially being out for the year to, ‘OK, it might only be a few weeks or a couple of weeks.’ uncertain

it → have → weeks

That changes your mindset drastically,” he said. asserted

he → change → mindset

“It was a good boost that I needed while I was in there.” asserted

I → need → that

The Seahawks have been just fine so far with Lock, who has thrown four touchdown passes — all to star receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. asserted

who → throw → Njigba

“(Lock) is a baller,” Darnold said. asserted

Darnold → say → ?

Cool to see his process throughout the week and how he attacked it. asserted

he → see → it

To go out there and perform the way that he did it was no surprise.” ___ asserted

he → go → it