Drew Lock says his elbow is 'a lot better' as he lines up to start against Arizona

Drew Lock, Seattle's expected starter against Arizona on Sunday, said Thursday that the right elbow injury that kept him inactive for the past two games is "doing a lot better," ESPN's Brady Henderson reported. Lock gets the start because Sam Darnold is out with a quad injury, and he told reporters he was planning to take every rep in practice for the rest of the week unless the training staff pulled him back.

The Seahawks still listed him as limited on Wednesday and again on Thursday, Seattle Sports' Brent Stecker noted. Lock has been on the injury report since Oct. 11. He was questionable for the Kansas City and Chicago games before being ruled inactive, dressing only as the emergency third quarterback, and he was not seen throwing in warmups before either one. He acknowledged Thursday that he could not have started either of those games had Darnold been unavailable, and that his throwing in practice during those weeks was limited to individual drills.

A plan B, and a plan C

Coach Mike Macdonald said Wednesday that Lock's throws would be managed and that Jalen Milroe would split practice reps and be ready to play if needed, ESPN reported. Milroe, a third-round pick in 2025 drafted partly for his running in special packages, has not played in a regular-season game since Week 5 of last season. Seattle added another arm on Wednesday, signing Adrian Martinez, the former UFL MVP, to the practice squad.

Macdonald said Lock was hurt during a rainy practice; neither he nor Lock said when or exactly how.

How Lock played in September

Lock has already beaten Arizona once this season. He took over on the fifth play of the opener when Darnold hurt his glute, and Seattle beat New England 13-10. He then started the Week 2 game in Glendale and threw three touchdown passes in a 31-7 win. Across those two games he completed almost 73% of his passes for four touchdowns with no turnovers, and his Total QBR of 82.5 ranked sixth in the league over that span, according to ESPN.

Arizona (3-5) arrives with its own new quarterback. Gardner Minshew, once a star at Washington State, starts for the Cardinals after Jacoby Brissett was traded to Baltimore, ESPN's game preview reported. Seattle has won the last 10 meetings.

Kickoff is 4:25 p.m. Eastern on Fox at Lumen Field. Prices are on the game page. Darnold's injuries and the offensive line in front of Lock are covered separately.