Laura Rutledge he hasn’t had much downtime in the past few days, but he still has room in his schedule to put some rumors to rest.
The ESPN reporter, who has been (literally) covering college football and the NFL over the weekend, reached out to X to clarify what happened after the Seattle Seahawks vs. San Francisco 49ers game at Levi’s Stadium on Saturday, January 3rd.
After a big 13-3 win for the Seahawks that saw them clinch the top seed in the NFC, Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold appeared to brush off the 37-year-old Rutledge while trying to get an interview after the game.
An X user posted a clip of the moment, chiding Darnold, 28, for skipping the interview. (Rutledge eventually spoke with Darnold after the game.)
Joe Buck had quite the shine while broadcasting the Seattle Seahawks vs. San Francisco 49ers game, but viewers might not have even noticed. The legendary broadcaster, 56, revealed in a joyous post via X after the Seahawks-49ers matchup on Saturday, January 3, that he called the game with a black eye, giving a shout out (…)
Rutledge responded to the social media postclarifying that Darnold was looking for a 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy at that time and came back for the interview.
“Hey! You may have missed where I explained that I told Darnold to take his time talking to whoever he wanted to see because we had time before we went off the air,” Rutledge posted after the incident went viral. “He was looking for Brock Purdy and was able to find him and then graciously did the interview.”
Answering to another postsaid, “We actually had a long time until we had to go off the air, so I told Darnold he had plenty of time to talk to whoever he wanted to see. Thanks!”
Laura Rutledge is seen before the game between the Detroit Lions and the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on September 22, 2025
Greg Fiume/Getty ImagesThe incident comes just weeks after the Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert went viral for cleaning Rutledge following the team’s win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Dec. 8.
After some pushback, Herbert, 27, finally answered Rutledge’s questions, though he gave short, snappy answers and was clearly distracted at the time.
The quarterback, who is currently dating the singer Madison beer — drew criticism at the time for trying to dodge the interview.
Rutledge laughed off the original incident on social media, sharing a clip of the interview and writing: “Tough day at the office. Let’s all laugh and move on!”
In addition to their side reporting obligations for Monday night football and prime-time college football games, Rutledge hosts NFL Live i SEC Nationgiving him an undoubtedly full agenda.
Fans got a firsthand look at how every second counts in Rutledge’s schedule as he went viral for his double duty during the College Football Playoff quarterfinals between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Ole Miss Rebels on Thursday, January 1st.
Rutledge was spotted sprinting across the field at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans with less than 60 seconds to run from his halftime interview to host the College Football Playoff halftime show.
“There’s probably two minutes to get to the set,” Rutledge said The Athletic in an interview published on Friday, January 2. “It’s super fast. The goal of getting there as fast as possible is not only because we’re going to be live on TV, but also because I have to figure out exactly what we’re doing.”