It's not even Flag Day yet, and Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald is already being asked about Sam Darnold's grip on the starting quarterback role.
During an interview on Seattle Sports 710 AM Tuesday, Macdonald was asked if there were any circumstances outside of injury where Darnold wouldn't be the Week 1 starter.
"No, you guys are crazy," Macdonald said, slightly shaking his head at the query. "I respect that you've got to ask it, but it's just a crazy question. It's just not going to happen. Sam's our starting quarterback. We love him. He's doing a tremendous job."
The question came a day after Darnold reportedly had a rollercoaster outing during an open-to-the-media organized team activity session.
Macdonald noted that there were some mistakes from the quarterback but emphasized that he bounced back from the errors. The coach added that this is the time to make those miscues so they can be corrected before the season.
"God forbid you're the worst player of all time because you made one bad throw or one bad decision," Macdonald said following a sarcastic riff about offseason practice. "That is not what we're 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'll go fix it. We've got time. It's June 3. They're going to get plenty of reps. We'll get those things fixed. Sam made a lot of great throws yesterday -- he was gashing us on third-and-goal to start the day out, too. So, yeah, it's kind of a crazy question."
There are plenty of legit concerns about Darnold taking over under center of a revamped offense in Seattle. However, one bad OTA session doesn't change the fact that he's the clear-cut Week 1 starter. Drew Lock showed last year in New York that he's a backup. And rookie Jalen Milroe, squarely running as QB3 in OTAs open to the media, has a ways to go before he's ready to contend with Darnold.
Macdonald is right to scoff at questions about who his starting quarterback will be at this stage. The better question is how the offense, with new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, plans to ensure those mistakes from Darnold are corrected now and don't compound, as we saw from the quarterback late last season.
