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Of all the ways Seattle wanted to open a title defense, this was not one of them. In the first five minutes of their first regular-season game since the Super Bowl, the starting quarterback was gone. A medical opinion is now out on how long he may be sidelined. That is the part the Seahawks have to plan around before they play again.

Less than five minutes into the first quarter, Darnold had to be taken off the field.

Drake Maye has opened the 2026 regular season with a touchdown for the New England Patriots. At first and goal, rookie tight end Eli Rairdon managed to find some separation before Maye lobbed the ball to him to conclude a 10-play, 77-yard drive.

Sam Darnold fractured the scapula in his throwing shoulder in 2021. It happened in Week 9 against New England, while he was the Carolina Panthers’ starting quarterback. 

The week before, he had left the Atlanta game with a concussion. The break was in the shoulder blade on the arm he uses to throw. He did not play again until Christmas, being limited to six games that season. 

In earlier years with the Jets, he had missed time with a foot sprain, mononucleosis that enlarged his spleen, and a shoulder sprain. The 2021 injury was a structural break, not swelling or a sprain. It ended his season as Carolina’s regular starter. He returned on December 25.

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