The last time the Seahawks traveled to Arizona, in November, they were already beaten up — and then lost Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor forever.
This time, the Seahawks enter their Arizona preparation with a lot of positive news: Doug Baldwin and Justin Britt returned to practice, Mychal Kendricks will be available again this week, and Pete Carroll and Earl Thomas are “in a good place” after the non-practice drama last week.
Earl Thomas sat out a couple of practices and Pete Carroll was evasive in his explanation, calling it a “personal” issue. That led to fair speculation that the Hawks might be talking trade. But Dallas denied it was talking with the Hawks again, and then Thomas basically declared he was playing against his favorite team.
Russell Wilson has a hamstring injury but says he’s “ready to go.” Meanwhile, Ethan Pocic is out, with J.R. Sweezy moving to left guard as D.J. Fluker returns at right guard. Justin Britt (shoulder) is expected to miss more than just one game, meaning Joey Hunt will start at center. It also sounds like Doug Baldwin will be out several more weeks.
On defense, Bobby Wagner said he will start vs. the Cowboys after doing the “grown-up” thing and sitting out Week 2 (he watched the game with Cliff Avril and Kam Chancellor). Mychal Kendricks could be available as his suspension appeal continues to be reviewed by the NFL — but he is questionable with an ankle injury.
The Seahawks are about to play their first game without Bobby Wagner or K.J. Wright since 2011, but — other than Wagner — what are the Seahawks really going to miss Monday in Chicago that they weren’t already missing?
In their 27-24 loss in Denver, they were without Wright (knee) and deactivated Nazair Jones and Poona Ford — and the Broncos rolled up 470 yards. That was with Wagner, Tre Flowers, Delano Hill and Tom Johnson on the field.
How much worse can it be without them?
Continue reading Even without Wagner, can defense really be any worse?
The Seahawks have not suffered any devastating injuries this preseason, which puts them one up on some NFL teams; but, they certainly have their share of dings.
The Seahawks have just a handful of veteran stars left from the Super Bowl core, and a couple of them are banged up as the season approaches. But K.J. Wright and Doug Baldwin aren’t the only injuries that will affect the team when it takes the field in Denver in a little over a week. The team also figures to be without Dion Jordan, Ed Dickson, Jamarco Jones, J.D. McKissic and perhaps Byron Maxwell and Neiko Thorpe.
At least five of those eight players were expected to be big contributors this season, so it’s at least a little concerning that we don’t know how long Wright and some of the others will be out — and it’s unfortunate to hear Baldwin will play the season at 80-85 percent as he manages a knee problem. (UPDATE: Coach Pete Carroll said Wright the “optimistic” estimate is two weeks. The range is typically 2-4 weeks for arthroscopic surgery.)
We’re giving the Seahawks a B-minus for roster strength. Here are grades for each position, based on health and depth (updated 8/29):
Just as they seemed to be getting healthy, the Seahawks reportedly suffered another big injury.
With two and a half weeks remaining until roster decisions must be made, Pete Carroll and his coaches are making their midway tweaks and setting timelines for injured players. And now word comes that J.D. McKissic is out 4-6 weeks with a broken foot.
Among the other big developments Tuesday, based on Carroll’s comments: George Fant will move to right tackle to challenge Germain Ifedi; Doug Baldwin and Rashaad Penny might play next week and will definitely be ready for the opener; Amara Darboh has a new injury that could land him on IR; and Dion Jordan is probably not going to be ready for the opener in Denver.
On top of that, both kickers released Monday were picked up and the Hawks brought in another pass rusher, troubled Junior Galette, for a tryout.
Continue reading McKissic out 4-6 weeks, Fant to RT, Darboh to IR? And more updates
The Seahawks have had a few big injury issues this camp — missing Dion Jordan, Doug Baldwin and Ed Dickson, among others — and now we can add Rashaad Penny to the list.
Along with a handful of guys coming off surgeries and a bunch of short-term ailments (at least seven hip flexor issues), it seems like the Hawks have had a lot of injuries. But the good thing — even in the case of Penny — is that very few of them are big deals. And the roster is getting healthier.
After injuries helped derail the past two seasons, Pete Carroll and John Schneider have made a big deal about having a much healthier roster this year. So it’s disappointing to see that Dion Jordan is still having injury issues — and it could mean the Seahawks really have few pass-rush options beyond this year.
Among several injury moves as camp started Thursday, the Seahawks placed Jordan on PUP. Carroll said he would be out “a few weeks,” and the PUP move means the Hawks think this could stretch into the season.
Continue reading Jordan’s injury leaves Hawks looking at other pass-rush options
Richard Sherman is recovering from another Achilles surgery but expected to be ready for training camp, Chris Carson and George Fant are both on pace to return healthy and there are no new updates on Kam Chancellor, Cliff Avril or Malik McDowell.
Those were the major injury updates from Pete Carroll at the Combine today.
In a cruel twist, the Seahawks could lose two of their star defenders to injury-forced retirement in the next few months.
Kam Chancellor will join Cliff Avril on the sideline for the rest of the season with a similar spinal concern, as Avril was set to have surgery to repair a disk in his neck. Pete Carroll said both will have to decide whether to try to continue their careers next year.
So now the Seahawks find themselves in a Marshawn Lynch situation again — needing to know the fate of these stars by early February so they can move forward with the rest of their roster.
Continue reading Hawks face a Lynch scenario with Avril, Kam
The Legion of Boom took a double whammy last Thursday, losing both Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor.
Sherman is out for the season, recovering from surgery on his Achilles and looking toward a return next spring. Chancellor apparently could be following him.
It sounds like the strong safety is out this week with the stinger (i.e., nerve issue) suffered against Arizona, and rumors are flying that he could be out for the season as well.
Pete Carroll said he was still undergoing tests this week and his prognosis was unclear. It sounds like his injury might not be as serious as the one that sidelined Cliff Avril earlier this season and has Avril considering his football future. But the loss of Chancellor would be another tough blow — making him the third starter gone from Seattle’s star-studded defense.
CHAWK TALK: Everything being said about the Seahawks 