Doug Baldwin misses another practice yet intends to play Sunday; 6 other starters out of drills
‘Tis the season.
For guys missing practice. Especially less than 48 hours following a Monday night game.
Nine Seahawks, seven of them starters, missed practice Wednesday. Three other starters were limited in practice with new injury listings since playing in Monday’s win over Minnesota.
Doug Baldwin did not practice again, as he didn’t all last week before he missed the Minnesota game with his second groin injury in three weeks. It was the third missed game this season for the 30-year-old Pro Bowl wide receiver—and third in his last 6 1/2 seasons.
Coach Pete Carroll said Baldwin intends to play Sunday when Seattle (8-5) plays at the San Francisco 49ers (3-10). The Seahawks have the chance to clinch a spot in next month’s NFC playoffs with a victory.
Baldwin played three weeks ago and had five catches in the win at Carolina on a pulled groin Carroll said should have sidelined him.
The coach said last weekend that this latest injury for Baldwin, which the Seahawks keep listing as a hip, is a second groin injury not related to last month’s pull.
“He went through the walkthrough (practice Wednesday morning),” Carroll said before the team held Baldwin out in the fuller, afternoon practice. “We’re just going one day at a time with Doug and never expecting anything other than he may pull off another one of those miracles and get back and play.
“His mind is set on doing that. We’ll see how he makes it through the week. I can’t tell you right now.”
Baldwin missed all of August and the second and third games of the season in September with knee issues. He’s also had elbow pain and the first groin issue. The NFL’s co-leader with 14 touchdown receptions in 2015 has two in 10 games this season.
Rookie running back Rashaad Penny was on an exercise bike during the first 10 minutes or so of practice open to the local media. He got a new knee injury while gaining 44 of Seattle’s 213 yards rushing against the Vikings Monday. Carroll said tests showed the first-round draft choice’s knee does not have structural issues.
“Yeah, after the game, his knee was sore,” Carroll said. “He had a sore knee so we’re going to rest him (Wednesday) and see how he goes. He’s had it all looked at and there’s not any issues with it, but he had a little bit of swelling so we’re going to take care of him.
“Yeah, first time (with this issue). He said he felt it at the restaurant after the game.”
D.J. Fluker was with Penny on the exercise bike on the side of the indoor practice field. The team’s best run blocker is trying to come back from a strained hamstring that sidelined him from the Vikings game.
“Still coming back, not quite ready (Wednesday),” Carroll said.
“I’ll give him a chance to do something special by the end of the week and see how that goes.”
For now, the Seahawks are plenty fine with Jordan Simmons filling in for Fluker as the starting right guard. Simmons, whom Seattle claimed off waivers in September from Oakland, has made two NFL starts—both for Fluker in the last month. The Seahawks have plowed for their two best rushing days of the season with Simmons starting: 273 yards at the Los Angeles Rams Nov. 11 and 214 yards Monday against Minnesota.
Simmons was on Oakland’s practice squad last season as an undrafted rookie from USC. He barely played in college because of multiple injuries.
Monday’s start gave him as many NFL career starts, two, as he had in five years at USC.
“Really at the point (we claimed him in September), he’s just kind of getting a shot,” Carroll said. “We hope he can come through.
“And he has.”
Left tackle Duane Brown was the third Seahawk starter on the bike at the start of practice. The 33-year-old veteran got what appeared to be a rest day, with the team listing his absence from practice as “NIR,” not injury-related.
Bradley McDougald missed practice with a newly listed knee injury. The strong safety continued his outstanding season replacing Kam Chancellor by breaking up a pass by Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins in the end zone on fourth down with Seattle leading 6-0 Monday night. It was the key defensive play in the Seahawks’ eventual 21-7 win.
McDougald missed a Wednesday practice two weeks ago, with a shoulder injury, yet started again that Sunday in the home win over San Francisco.
Defensive end Frank Clark was listed as limited in practice by a new elbow injury. Defensive tackle Jarran Reed had the same status with a new oblique issue. And starting running back Chris Carson was limited with the Seahawks listing his issue as NIR.
It’s no surprise nor huge concern there were so many newly listed injuries two days after a game of 60-some car crashes Monday night. The Seahawks’ first practice of a game week is usually the third day after a previous, Sunday game, not less than two days after a game as Wednesday’s workout was.
This story was originally published December 12, 2018 at 7:23 PM.
