Seahawks lose Quenton Nelson to knee procedure, rule out Darnold and five others vs. Arizona

Quenton Nelson has played one game for the Seattle Seahawks, and now he will miss at least one. Coach Mike Macdonald said Friday that the All-Pro left guard, acquired from Indianapolis less than two weeks ago, will have a minor procedure on his knee and is considered week-to-week. Seattle does not plan to put him on injured reserve. "Quenton is going to be out," Macdonald said, as reported by Seahawks.com.

Nelson is one of seven players Seattle has ruled out for Sunday's home game against the Arizona Cardinals. ESPN reported that quarterback Sam Darnold (quad) is also out, and cited NFL Network's Ian Rapoport saying that Nelson's procedure is to clean out cartilage. Left tackle Charles Cross (ankle), defensive tackle Leonard Williams (stinger), outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu (ankle), receiver Rashid Shaheed (knee) and nose tackle Brandon Pili (back) will also sit. Outside linebacker Connor O'Toole is questionable with a foot injury.

The knee problem came with Nelson to Seattle. Macdonald said the guard was managing an issue when he arrived, and new imaging showed he had aggravated it. Bleacher Report traced it to his final game with the Colts on Oct. 25 and noted that he passed his physical with Seattle. Nelson played every offensive snap in Monday's loss to Chicago, then was limited Wednesday and did not practice Thursday or Friday. Seattle gave up a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth-rounder to get him, a win-now move that NBC Sports called a setback for the club.

With Nelson out, FOX 13 Seattle reported that Grey Zabel moves back to left guard and Anthony Bradford returns at right guard. Cross is also out, so the left side of the line will be rebuilt for this game.

What it means for Arizona

The Seahawks are 4-4 and have lost three of their last four. They beat Kansas City 20-3 in that stretch, but the other three games were losses: 14-17 at Denver, 29-32 to San Francisco and 17-34 to the Bears on Monday night. Arizona comes in at 3-5. Seattle won 31-7 in Glendale earlier this season, but that team had its starting quarterback, both tackles and Williams.

Seattle is still a heavy favorite. Novig has Seattle at -365 on the moneyline and Arizona at +355, and DraftKings has the best Arizona price at +360. Novig sets the spread at Seattle -8.5, with Seattle at +102 and Arizona at -104. Other venues have the line at 8 and 9: theScore Bet lists Seattle -8 at -115, and Hard Rock Bet lists Arizona +9 at -115. That half-point gap on each side is the main difference between venues. Novig's total is 39.5, the over at +104 and the under at -106, which is low for an offense missing its quarterback and two of its best linemen. Sportsbook hold ranges from 2.9% to 5.3% across the 12 venues on the game board.

The Seahawks didn't put Nelson on IR, so they expect him back soon. Sunday's game is not in question, though. Seattle will play Arizona with a backup quarterback and a reworked left side.