# Brendon Nelson: Nelson expects Sam Darnold to return and play the entire game against Washington in Week 3, rather than being limited or rested, unless it becomes a blowout. He also doubts Seattle trades Drew Lock, arguing the big offer won't materialize and Seattle should keep him as quarterback insurance. **Claimed:** Sep 25, 2026 **Pundit:** Brendon Nelson — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/brendon-nelson **Outlet:** Sports Illustrated — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/sports-illustrated **How it reached us:** published in writing **Original:** https://www.si.com/nfl/seahawks/onsi/seahawks-mailbag-4-questions-leading-into-commanders-game 2 checkable claims — 1 availability call and 1 trade and signing call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet. It names 3 players and teams, each linked to their own record. None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in. > Barring a blowout, which seems entirely on the table right now, I suspect Sam takes the whole game. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **As of this writing, all signs point towards Sam Darnold playing on Sunday against the Commanders... Barring a blowout, which seems entirely on the table right now, I suspect Sam takes the whole game. (Week 3 vs. Commanders)** - Kind: Availability Calls · About: Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks - Verdict: not settled yet - **Drew Lock to move — “no Godfather offer is coming; Seahawks keep him as QB insurance rather than trading him at the deadline”** - Kind: Trade and Signing Calls · About: Drew Lock - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - Sam Darnold — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/sam-darnold - Seattle Seahawks — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/seahawks - Drew Lock — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/drew-lock ## What others said about the same people - Chris Simms on Seattle Seahawks: Simms went through the entire Week 3 slate with straight-up winners and predicted final scores, taking Jacksonville, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Detroit, Houston, Carolina, Kansas City, Seattle, the Giants, Baltimore, New Orleans, Minnesota, San Francisco, Denver and Philadelphia. He also expected Zay Flowers and Puka Nacua to sit, Kyler Murray to play, and said Marvin Harrison Jr. projects as no better than a good No. 2 or high-end No. 3 receiver. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/662b7ba3-1bf6-4ad0-9f93-9f2ab83143fd (scored 30.95) - Connor Rogers on Seattle Seahawks: Rogers picked Detroit, Houston, Carolina, Kansas City, Seattle and the Giants to win their Week 3 games, saying the Chiefs win by two touchdowns and the Giants by a field goal. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/83d1e88b-95a0-45ba-83d3-f86297170c6c (scored 0) - Sam Monson on Seattle Seahawks: Monson picked the Chargers to beat the Bills outright (jokingly crediting Buffalo's gray 'Nickel City' jerseys), took the Vikings to win outright in Tampa, and said Seattle would destroy Washington. He also reiterated his Super Bowl pick of Denver over the Rams, called the Dolphins destined for the No. 1 overall pick, and said the Saints are a worst-to-first candidate in the NFC South. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/0b810ffd-fd93-4ea2-a208-b1353dea5fb0 (scored 0) - John Middlekauff on Seattle Seahawks: Middlekauff expects blowout wins for Seattle over Washington and Kansas City over Miami in Week 3, picks Cincinnati to beat Pittsburgh in the AFC North matchup, and takes Tennessee over the Giants if Jameis Winston is taking snaps. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/8115d255-82e3-442e-aeef-c3eaa3587603 (scored 0) - Nick Wright on Seattle Seahawks: On his Week 3 pick show, Nick Wright gave straight-up final-score predictions for five games, calling blowouts by Seattle over Washington and Kansas City over Miami, a Jacksonville home win over New England, a narrow New Orleans win over the Raiders and a low-scoring Baltimore win over Dallas in Brazil. He also called Seattle the best team in the NFL with the league's best defense. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/afa6070a-4229-4b28-a922-31d609ad1adf (scored 4.76) - John Pluym on Seattle Seahawks: Picked the Seahawks to beat the Commanders in Week 3. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/ee15fd9e-ce6d-4573-8444-8778b46e2997 (scored 0) ## More availability calls The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Ralph Ventre on Christian Benford: Ventre expects Christian Benford's toe injury to sideline him for at least the Week 4 game against New England, and believes the Bills will have to add a cornerback to the 53-man roster this week — likely by moving Benford to injured reserve — with practice squad rookie Kani Walker the most likely player elevated. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/94b844fe-bb22-4517-81f5-6263eb0213f1 (not settled) - Fox Sports on Jayden Daniels: With surgery ruled out, Washington's outlet speculates Jayden Daniels avoids injured reserve and, if he isn't back for the Week 4 game in London, returns either in Week 5 against the Giants or Week 6 against the 49ers. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/38c42e1c-1990-46fb-a145-d6cf5a1d8c33 (not settled) - Ian Rapoport on J.J. McCarthy: On the JJ McCarthy trade he expects Jameis Winston to keep starting for the Giants while McCarthy learns, with McCarthy ready to go around midseason weeks six through eight; he also expects Tyson Bagent to start for the Bears next week with Caleb Williams out. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b34b40aa-92b6-4ca8-95a0-4c25741e3d19 (not settled) - Jordan Dajani on Baker Mayfield: Dajani writes that, based on the injury timeline, Baker Mayfield should be available to return for Tampa Bay's Oct. 25 game against the Carolina Panthers. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/e3ea298b-362e-42b2-918b-d07d0e69ae41 (not settled) - Evan Tarracciano on Garrett Wilson: In his Week 3 studs and duds recap, Tarracciano says Drake London becomes a mid-tier WR1 now that Michael Penix Jr. is back, maintains Chase Brown should still be ranked as an RB1 despite a slow start, and expects Garrett Wilson to be fine after a concussion evaluation and play in Week 4. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/88e87735-d91e-4436-8793-f2fd9929dd1c (not settled) - Kelly Kirby on Breece Hall: Kirby suggested Breece Hall's leg injury casts doubt on whether he will be available for the Jets in Week 4, making Braelon Allen a priority pickup. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/5467ba30-85be-438a-8fe0-ce12f4b7ee66 (not settled) --- Accuracy is 0-100 against what actually happened. The naive guess is what a strategy requiring no knowledge would have scored on the same call — the difference is the skill, and it is what the MissedTakes Score averages. Full method: https://missedtakes.co/methodology We summarize what a pundit said and quote a short span for attribution; we never republish their article. If this is wrong, tell us: https://missedtakes.co/corrections?pundit=brendon-nelson