June 4 (UPI) — Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald shut down the idea that Sam Darnold could lose his edge as the first quarterback on his depth chart, but rookie Jalen Milroe is still expected to be used in specialty packages.
Macdonald made the comments during a radio interview Tuesday with Seattle Sports 710 AM. He was asked about Darnold a day after reporters watched the quarterback produce an “up and down day,” which included several interceptions during a 7-on-7 period of organized team activities.
“It’s just a crazy question,” Macdonald said, when asked if there was anything that could happen — outside of an injury — that would lead to the Seahawks starting another quarterback.
“It’s just not going to happen. Sam’s our starting quarterback. We love him. He’s doing a tremendous job.”
Darnold, 27, resurrected his career last season when he completed 66.2% of his throws for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns — all career-highs — over 17 starts for the Minnesota Vikings. The first-time Pro Bowl selection went on to sign a three-year, $100.5 million contract with the Seahawks in March.
“I think it’s funny that the media is out there the first day and all the sudden they know exactly how good we are going to be, how good all the players are, all the tempos,” Macdonald said. “We haven’t even put on pads yet. We haven’t made one tackle.”
The Seahawks traded away veteran starter Geno Smith in March. They brought back former quarterback Drew Lock with a two-year deal in April and selected former Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft a few weeks later.
Seahawks general manager John Schneider said last month on The Rich Eisen Show that that Darnold was informed about the team possibly selecting a quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft. He also hinted that Milroe could be used in a similar way to quarterback/tight end Taysom Hill, who often sees snaps through special packages with the New Orleans Saints.
Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak served as offensive coordinator of the Saints in 2024.
“I think it’s going to fun to watch and see how it plays out,” Schneider said. “Coach Kubiak and those guys had Taysom down there. One of the really attractive things is the way those guys utilized the variety of talent they had in New Orleans last year.”
Macdonald said that the Seahawks have plenty of time to get more repetitions and “fix” the offense. He also said Darnold “gashed” the Seahawks defense on third down during his latest practice session.
“God forbid you are the worst player of all time because you made one bad throw or one bad decision,” Macdonald said. “That is not what we are trying to build. We want these guys to go prepare the right way and then when they go out on the practice field, go freaking let it rip. And then we will go fix it.
“We’ve got time … They’re going to get plenty of reps. We’ll get this thing fixed.”
Seahawks players will participate in additional organized team activity workouts Wednesday and Thursday, Monday and June 11-12. They will report for mandatory minicamp June 17.
