Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald told Seattle radio station KIRO on Thursday that Darnold's injury is a muscle strain rather than joint damage after Seattle's 13-10 home win over the Patriots on Wednesday.

While multiple reports said Darnold is expected to miss next week's game against Arizona, Darnold has likely avoided a long-term absence.

Darnold exited the NFL 2026 season opener after only five plays because of a hip injury suffered when he was sacked, limping to the locker room.

"The hip is intact and it's good. It's more of like a muscle thing," Macdonald said. "So that's good news."

While he expects Darnold to miss some time, Macdonald said: "How long that is, we don't know yet."

New England wide receiver A.J. Brown suffered a right ankle injury early in the third quarter and left the game.

"Running more tests. We'll update you here next week," Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said. "We'll continue to evaluate, continue to run tests, but I don't know if he will be available for the next week."

New England's next game is at home against Pittsburgh on September 20.

Brown was making his debut with New England after helping the Philadelphia Eagles beat Kansas City in the 2025 Super Bowl. He was traded to the Patriots last June, reuniting with Vrabel, his former coach at Tennessee.