RENTON – The worst fears of the Seattle Seahawks were realized when a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test revealed on Thursday that rookie offensive tackle James Carpenter suffered an anterior cruciate ligament tear in his left knee, ending his season.
The No. 25 overall pick in this year’s draft by Seattle out of Alabama, Carpenter had been the only Seahawks player to participate in every offensive play this season – a streak that will come to an end on Sunday.
Breno Giacomini will take Carpenter’s place at right tackle. Giacomini started the season opener at San Francisco because Carpenter started at left guard with veteran Robert Gallery out with a sprained knee.
“It’s bad when somebody goes down, especially the way he went down,” Giacomini said. “He was getting better every day, so it’s tough to see that. But everybody goes through it at some point. I’ve been through it my rookie year, too. So you’ve just got to put that behind you and move on and continue doing what we’ve been doing as an offensive line.”
Carpenter suffered the injury during one-on-one pass protection drills at Wednesday’s practice.
“It’s never happened to me in my career in 25 years,” offensive line coach Tom Cable said about Carpenter’s injury. “I’ve never lost a guy in a pass-pro drill. So it’s new for me, too.”
Cable said it’s a shame that both Carpenter and fellow rookie John Moffitt, who had started at right guard, are out for the season, but he has confidence in Paul McQuistan and Giacomini stepping in at right guard and right tackle, respectively.
Starting center Max Unger agreed.
“Paul and Breno are both proven,” Unger said. “We’re trying to not let this affect us in any way. But again, these (are) guys that have already played, and both have started games this year. So it’s a big deal that we lost two starters. But we’ve got two proven guys that are stepping in.”
INJURY UPDATE
Safety Atari Bigby and defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove missed a second day of practice Thursday because of hamstring injuries. Receivers Doug Baldwin and Sidney Rice, along with safety Kam Chancellor and linebacker David Vobora, were all full participants coming back from concussion symptoms. Quarterback Tarvaris Jackson (pectoral) and tight end Cameron Morrah (toe/knee) also were full participants. … The Seahawks will have a walk-through practice today and – unlike their earlier road trips this season, because Sunday’s game starts at 3 p.m. in St. Louis – Seattle will not travel until Saturday.
Eric D. Williams: 253-597-8437 eric.williams@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/seahawks
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.