Seahawks to start Drew Lock at Raiders through oblique injury as Sam Darnold sits again

Drew Lock will start again for the Seattle Seahawks. Coach Mike Macdonald said on his Monday radio show that Sam Darnold will miss another game and that Seattle will go to Las Vegas on Sunday with the same quarterback plan it used last week, CBS Sports reported. Lock will start and Jalen Milroe will back him up.

Darnold is still out with a quad injury and a broken rib. Lock went into the sideline medical tent during the 17-3 win over Arizona with an oblique problem, which put his status for this week in doubt. Macdonald said Lock had a good exam and called the injury "something that we can manage," according to CBS Sports. Lock also dealt with elbow tendinitis in the days before the Cardinals game. He still completed 19 of 28 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown, though CBS Sports noted he did not look fully healthy.

Sitting Darnold one more week gives him a long recovery window. Seattle's bye comes right after the Raiders game, so Darnold has a path back for the Nov. 29 division game at San Francisco. Lock is 2-0 as a starter this season, and both wins came against Arizona. If his oblique or elbow keeps him out, Milroe would make his first appearance of the year. The 2025 third-round pick has never thrown an NFL pass. Adrian Martinez is on the practice squad as further depth.

What it means for Sunday in Las Vegas

At 5-4, Seattle has been hard to read. The Seahawks are 2-3 over their last five games and have alternated wins and losses lately. The 17-3 win over Arizona followed a 34-17 loss to Chicago. Their four losses have mostly been close. Three came by three points or fewer: 33-31 at Washington, 32-29 against San Francisco and 17-14 at Denver. Through nine games they have scored 202 points and allowed 162. The defense has held two of its last three opponents to a field goal, Kansas City and Arizona.

With Lock at quarterback, the offense has been steady rather than explosive. That is the job again against the Raiders, with a week off waiting after the game.

Across the 12 venues on our board for Seahawks at Raiders, Seattle is favored by 3.5 points. Novig lists the Seahawks at -102 against the spread, and the best price anywhere is Pinnacle's +101 at the same number, a gap of only a few cents. On the moneyline, Novig has Seattle favored at -174 and Las Vegas at +167. Novig's total sits at 43.5, with the over at -102 and the under at -111. BetRivers has the best over price on the board at -109 on 43. The sportsbooks' built-in margins run from 3 to 5 percent across these markets.

The price makes Seattle a road favorite even without its regular starter. For now, the bigger question is Lock's health between Monday and kickoff. Follow the rest of the season on our Seahawks team page.