Sam Darnold Cleared to Return, Ending the Drew Lock Era in Seattle

Sam Darnold’s glute is officially cleared for takeoff, which is a devastating blow to the Drew Lock MVP agenda but fantastic news for the Seattle Seahawks.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Friday that the defending Super Bowl champion quarterback is completely off the injury report. Darnold is good to go for Sunday’s road game against the Washington Commanders, officially ending his brief stint on the sidelines.

"Adam Schefter tweeted that Darnold is 'off the injury report for Sunday’s game at Washington and is good to go.'"

Lock did exactly what a premium insurance policy is supposed to do after Darnold went down on the opening drive of Week 1. The backup stepped in to manage a gritty 13-10 win over the New England Patriots, then casually dismantled the Arizona Cardinals 31-7. But you do not leave the Ferrari in the garage just because the rental car got you to the grocery store without crashing.

Let us not forget who actually runs this offense. Darnold is the guy who threw for 4,048 yards and 25 touchdowns last season while marching Seattle to a Super Bowl title and a franchise-record 14 regular-season wins. He did not miss a single game during that historic run, making this two-week vacation for a bruised backside just a minor blip on the radar.

His return completely changes the calculus for Sunday's matchup in Landover. Washington is coming off a brutal 37-20 beatdown from the Dallas Cowboys, and now they have to face a fully weaponized defending champion. Anyone looking at the lines hoping to fade a backup quarterback on the road just had their entire weekend strategy ruined.

Seattle is sitting pretty at 2-0 and getting their undisputed leader back under center without having to rush his recovery. If Darnold looks anything like the guy who hoisted the Lombardi Trophy a few months ago, the Commanders are in for a miserable Sunday afternoon.