Sam Darnold did his usual.
The Pro Bowl quarterback jogged onto the field before stretching began at the start of Seahawks practice Friday — the latest-in-the-season practice of his eight-year NFL career. He started it by again flicking some warmup passes from about 15 yards away to veteran wide receiver Cooper Kupp.
Then Darnold what’s become his new normal this month. He took parts of practice off to rest his oblique injury he got in a practice 15 days earlier.
As he has been for the last two game weeks, Darnold again was a limited participant in Seattle’s next-to-last practice of its bye week, before the team leaves Sunday to play Super Bowl 60 against the New England Patriots Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, California.
The league required the Seahawks and Patriots on Friday to submit a game-like injury report, as if the Super Bowl was this Sunday not next.
The Seahawks didn’t list anyone of note as unlikely to play in the would-be game if it was this weekend. Fullback Robbie Ouzts was listed as questionable with his ongoing neck issue; special-teams captain Brady Russell continues to practice at that position. Third-string rookie left tackle Amari Kight was doubtful with a knee injury.
In Massachusetts, Patriots quarterback Drake Maye continues to work through practices with an issue in his right, throwing shoulder. Maye hurt his shoulder throwing a stiff-arm on a Broncos defender during a carry in New England’s AFC title game win at Denver last weekend. Maye did not participate in the Patriots’ practice Friday.
New England listed Maye as a would-be questionable on the Friday report.
Both Darnold and Maye are playing Super Bowl 60.
“It’s just day by day, how we’re going to operate. That’s what we’ve done the last two weeks. So that’s what we’ll keep doing,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said of Darnold and his oblique injury.
“You put timetables on things. He’s going to play in the game. It’s just, ‘What’s the best thing to do every day with that in mind?’ That’s how we’re going to treat it.”
