Doug Baldwin questionable, a game-time decision for Seahawks at Carolina; K.J. Wright out
So much for Pete Carroll saying this was the best Doug Baldwin has felt all season.
The Seahawks on Friday listed their Pro Bowl wide receiver as questionable to play on Sunday at Carolina in a key game for NFC playoff positioning. The 30-year-old Baldwin strained his groin in practice on Tuesday, about an hour or so after his coach said this was the best Baldwin has been following pain in both knees the first two months of this season.
“We are going to work him out in pregame to make sure he’s OK,” Carroll said Friday just before the coach and his Seahawks boarded their plane for Charlotte, N.C.
“It popped up the day I said he was the best he’s felt all year. His groin kind of acted up on him a little bit.
“So I’m not going to say that again.”
K.J. Wright is sitting out again in an attempt to be available in December.
The Seahawks declared Wright is out for Sunday. The team wants to give the Pro Bowl linebacker time to heal his surgically repaired left knee. Wright played three games once he made his season debut Oct. 28 at Detroit. But he left the loss at the Los Angeles Rams on Nov. 11, then missed last week’s win over Green Bay.
This will be the eighth time in 11 games this season the 29-year-old veteran won’t play. He’s in the final year of his contract.
“We are going to keep working on it,” Carroll said. “There are a couple things that we are going to do. It will probably take him another week (before he can return to playing).”
Austin Calitro is poised to start at weakside linebacker for Wright, as he has in three games this season. The Seahawks like the relative experience the second-year backup middle linebacker behind Bobby Wagner has at all every-down linebacker spots.
That’s compared to Barkevious Mingo and rookie Shaquem Griffin. Mingo has been an edge pass rusher in his college and NFL careers, until the Seahawks began using him as a coverage and run-stopping linebacker on the strongside and in nickel, five defensive-back defenses this fall.
Carroll said J.D. McKissic looked fast in his return this week to practice off injured reserve., but that one week is too soon for him to return to playing after missing three months. The pass-receiving running back broke a bone in his foot in August.
Carroll said McKissic will practice again next week, with an eye toward him possibly making his season debut Dec. 10 against Minnesota.
“He looked great, really. He looked really, really quick and on it,” the coach said of the former wide receiver. “He jumped right into doing stuff and his assignments and all that.
“But it just doesn’t make sense for us to try and do it in one week’s time. So we’ll go next week and take a look at him again and anticipate that he’s going to be in pretty good shape and pretty close to going the next week.”
Dickson leads in Pro Bowl fan voting
The NFL released early fan-voting results for its 2019 Pro Bowl.
Rookie punter Michael is the lone Seahawks player leading in votes at his position. The fifth-round draft choice and former Australian Rules Football player with booming, directional punts plus the bold run out of his end zone for a first down to seal the win at Detroit last month has 51,852 votes to be the NFC’s punter in the game Jan. 27 in Orlando, Fla.
Fan voting runs through Dec. 13 at NFL.com/ProBowlVote.
Thorpe returning
The Seahawks’ special-teams units will get back its captain on Sunday.
Neiko Thorpe practiced fully this week and is primed to play for the first time in five games. He’s been out with a groin strain. He last played Oct. 14 in the win over Oakland in London.
“Yeah, it’s great to have Neiko back,” Carroll said. “Neiko’s been a leader, particularly in special teams, since he’s arrived. And his attitude and the personality that he brings and the effort and the playmaking has always been really outstanding. So we love getting him back.”
Fluker and his bike
Right guard D.J. Fluker was on the injury report Wednesday with a knee issue but finished the week practicing fully. The Seahawks’ best run blocker is ready to start Sunday.
“Actually, he looked a little stiff coming off the break (last weekend). And then the next day and the next day he’s been fine, so he looked good throughout the week, other than the first day back from the days off,” Carroll said. “The motto of that one is don’t give him many more days off.
“Or, I told him he could ride a bike if he’s off for a few days, but then I thought about the bike and he talked about the bike, too.”
A bike? The massive, 350-plus-pound Fluker on a bike?
“It’s got to be a stationary bike, at best, and he brought it up first,” Carroll said.
“I agree with him.”
Carolina sun
After a cool, rainy week in Charlotte the forecast for Sunday’s game is sun with the temperature the low 60s.
“Beautiful there, so no conditions to complain about,” Carroll said. “Just got to get ready to go play some good ball.”
This story was originally published November 23, 2018 at 1:24 PM.
