Duane Brown doing pull-ups after biceps injury starts seemingly replenishing Seahawks week
One day after playing his first game in nearly a month, Duane Brown was doing pull-ups.
That’s a 34-year-old veteran of 12 NFL seasons of banging into defensive linemen pulling 6 feet 4 inches and 315 pounds vertically over a bar. With a recently injured biceps. A day after playing in the Seahawks’ win at Atlanta.
“He was doing pull-ups,” Carroll said Monday, marveling. “I wasn’t there to count them. I just heard about it.”
Brown’s display began this week of replenishment for the 6-2 Seahawks.
The Pro Bowl left tackle is back from the arm injury he got Oct. 3 in Seattle’s win over the Los Angeles Rams. Though Brown left the game at Atlanta last weekend for a seven-play drive to rest what Carroll later said was a “sore” knee, the coach said Brown felt good for Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay (2-5) at CenturyLink Field.
Carroll had a positive outlook on cornerback Tre Flowers returning from his neck-stringer nerve injury this week. Akeem King started for Flowers in Atlanta.
“Yes. He feels a lot better (now),” Carroll said of Flowers. “I think he made the comment that if we were playing tonight, he could play. We thought he could get through it and have a chance.
“He’s that much better. He’s pretty optimistic. He should be OK to work all week long and give himself another chance to be back.”
Tight end Ed Dickson is returning this week from injured reserve with the intention of play Sunday, Carroll said. The veteran who was Seattle’s starter in his first season with the team last year had knee surgery in August.
“He’s going to go this week. We’re bringing Ed back in with the thought to give him a chance to practice with the chance to play,” Carroll said. “We’ve worked him really hard leading up to this time through his rehab and all. He’s been preparing for the workload. Very optimistic that he could (play against Tampa Bay), if he can make it through the week.”
Pivotal safety Bradley McDougald is “way better” than he was the last two weeks when he was stopped by back spasms. McDougald played last weekend against the Falcons only because he had to; he replaced rookie fill-in starter Marquise Blair at strong safety for one drive in Atlanta because the second-round pick had leg cramps. Blair then returned to the game and made Seattle’s most important defensive play.
He knocked the ball from the hands of Falcons running back Devonta Freeman at the 1-yard line. Seahawks teammate Bobby Wagner recovered. Instead of Atlanta closing to within 24-18 in the fourth quarter with a touchdown Seattle answered with a field goal and a 27-11 lead to put the game away.
“He’s really active,” Carroll said. “Again, some really good hits. He’s got a lot of the details to clean up, just continue to get better.
“He’s certainly a ball player. You can see that.”
McDougald’s pivotal because he’s been the coach’s choice as best coverage defensive back for years (though cornerback Shaquill Griffin is having an at-times dominant season so far blanketing receivers and knocking down passes). McDougald’s status will also determine what happens with Blair and Quandre Diggs at the other safety spots.
When McDougald resumes starting, Blair has earned keeping the starting spot he’s had the last two games for McDougald.
“We’ll see how he does this week,” Carroll said of McDougald. “He’s way better. I’d like to get back where we can mix our guys and do some things that we’ve been doing in the past.
“Marquise is going to play some more. He deserves to play. He’s doing good. We need Bradley out there, too. Bradley’s always been so flexible. He does so many things. He really helps us. I’d like to get us involved in some good ways.”
So where does that leave Diggs when he returns from the hamstring strain he got Oct. 14 playing for Detroit, before the Lions traded him to Seattle last week? Diggs, who missed his first Seahawks game in Atlanta, has primarily been a strong safety, a hard-hitting one who impressed Carroll with the Lions at that spot. But he’s also played free safety and nickel back inside on slot receivers. And he was a cornerback coming out of the University of Texas when Detroit drafted him in 2015.
Carroll hinted Diggs may be one Seahawk who doesn’t come back from injury this week—and said his new team’s medical staff “uncovered” a more extensive need of care for the hamstring he played one game with before Detroit traded him to Seattle.
“We’re going to take him through the week and see. He had a hamstring that he came to us with and he had played with it,” the coach said. “We uncovered that we need to take care of him to get him back fully.
“He’ll be running around this week. He was very controlled last week. We’ll see how far he can go. I can’t say that he’s for sure back yet for this weekend.”
Carroll said he doesn’t think learning his new team’s defensive playbook will be an issue for Diggs.
“I don’t think it’s going to be any problem for him, at all. I don’t that will even be an issue, particularly if he gets through one more week before he plays,” Carroll said.
Quinton Jefferson, the most consistent producer on Seattle’s inconsistent pass rush, missed the Atlanta game with a strained oblique muscle. Carroll said the defensive end who’s often been effective inside at tackle in passing situations is “better,” increasing the chances he returns to play the Buccaneers this weekend.
“We’re going to have to see how he goes through the week. We’re still working on that oblique thing that he had,” Carroll said. “They can’t predict yet what’s going to happen, so he’ll go light (in practice) on Wednesday, and then we’ll see how he does in the later part of the week.”
This story was originally published October 30, 2019 at 7:20 AM.
