Do NOT Tell Rich That Seahawks QB Sam Darnold Missing Week 9 is a ‘Soft Benching’

Breaking news hit the show mid-segment: Sam Darnold is out for Sunday's game against the Cardinals with a quad injury, and Drew Lock is getting the start for the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks.

Chris Brockman delivered the news from Mike Macdonald's press availability. Rich immediately anticipated where the conversation was going to go, and he wanted no part of it.

The Sarcasm Comes First

Rich laid out the case the internet was about to make, with tongue fully in cheek. Lock finished the week one game, which went on Darnold's record as a win. Lock also beat Arizona before Darnold came back in week three.

"So Drew Lock's clearly the better quarterback and should be starting," Rich said. "Because that's what happens with backup quarterbacks when the starter is struggling. And it doesn't matter if he was the starter for a Super Bowl team last year."

"He won the whole thing," came the reply from the desk.

Rich said there might even be someone on the show's guillotine league text chain who thinks this is a soft benching. He didn't want to out that person. He only brought it up because "that's the sort of conversation that always goes down," the same way people are already wondering where a Kyler Murray hamstring issue came from.

"Stop It"

Then Rich dropped the bit. "The guy's got a quad injury. OK? They're not benching. No, stop it," he said. "They are not benching, soft or otherwise, their starting quarterback from last year's team, who was a captain and a clear starting quarterback in this league."

Macdonald Buries the Lead

Then came Macdonald's own words. He said Darnold was hurt at the end of the game, will be out this week and is week to week, but won't go on IR. The plan is for Drew to start, with Jaylen ready to back up.

And then Macdonald added something nobody saw coming. "In terms of Sam, I mean, this guy, he's tough as nails," he said. "Cracked his rib on the second play of the game. Playing the whole game without even making a name of it, and playing his tail off and competing. I just think it's worth noting how tough this guy is, and he'll be back sooner than later, I'm sure."

The studio reacted the way you'd expect. "Spoiler alert. Nobody told me that was coming at the end of the sound bite," was the first reaction in studio. Everyone agreed it sounds worse than a quad. "Bury the lead," was the verdict. Cracked ribs, and also a quad.

The Math on Darnold's Return

Rich then pulled up the schedule and made a prediction. "We're not seeing Sam Darnold until week 12," he said. Seattle is home for Arizona, then at Las Vegas, then on a bye.

Asked if Lock can handle those two games, Rich didn't hesitate. "Yes, he can. That's what backup quarterbacks are there for, to win these games." Lock has already won at Arizona, he noted, and should handle the home date before competing in Las Vegas.

The real stakes come after the bye. It's the biggest game of the year for Seattle, Rich said, "because if they don't win at San Francisco, they get swept by the Niners and the division's gone. Most likely."

So that's almost a month without Darnold while whatever is wrong with his rib or quad gets fixed. Rich expects Lock to do what he did earlier this year, and what Mac Jones did last year for the Niners: "keep the ship afloat and get everybody talking, should he still be the starter, even though that's nonsense."

He said it twice, for emphasis. "Nonsense."