Carlos Hyde, Tyler Lockett playing, Chris Carson to try, starting corners out vs. Arizona
Russell Wilson is getting the help he needs. And potentially double the help.
Running back Carlos Hyde will play for the Seahawks Thursday night in their key NFC West home game against Arizona. It will be the veteran rusher’s first time playing in four games. The 1,000-yard rusher for Houston in 2019 strained his hamstring in Seattle’s overtime loss to the Cardinals Oct. 25.
There’s a chance lead rusher Chris Carson plays, too. The Seahawks list him as questionable. The team’s leading rusher practiced Tuesday for the first time since he sprained his foot in that first Seattle-Arizona game in the desert four games ago.
“Carlos looked strong throughout (this week in practice),” coach Pete Carroll said following Wednesday’s light, indoor workout.
“Chris, we are going to wait until (Thursday) to see what we are doing with it. But he did practice and looked good in all the stuff that he did.
“We’re real close with Chris. Feeling really good that Carlos will be out there.”
The Seahawks (6-3) have lost three of four games since Carson and Hyde got hurt. Defenses have disregarded Seattle’s shell of a running game and incessantly blitzed Russell Wilson. The quarterback has committed 10 turnovers in the last four games. He’s been knocked down 34 times the last two weeks while turning the ball over seven times in the Seahawks’ losses at Buffalo and the Los Angeles Rams.
Tyler Lockett is officially questionable, but Carroll all but declared Seattle’s top veteran wide receiver is playing against the Cardinals.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt that he’s playing,” Carroll said—before he caught himself and added the team needs to see how Lockett responds Thursday to the work he did on the field Wednesday.
The coach said Lockett looked so good at practice Wednesday the team had to hold him down from doing more.
Lockett injured his knee last weekend during Seattle’s loss at the Rams. Carroll said an MRI this week showed no serious or structural damage beyond a relatively minor strain.
The last time the Seahawks played the Cardinals, Arizona had top cover cornerback Patrick Peterson shadow DK Metcalf. Wilson threw 20 times to Lockett instead last month in the desert, for the receiver’s career night of 15 catches, 200 yards and three touchdowns.
“He looked really good (Wednesday). He was light on his feet and boppin’ around pretty good,” Carroll said. “We had to hold him back today.”
Center Ethan Pocic remains in the NFL concussion protocol 10 days after he got one playing every snap at Buffalo. He is out again.
Kyle Fuller is set to start for Pocic for the second time in four days, and for the second time at center in his three-year career. Fuller is officially questionable with a high-ankle sprain he got in the first half of the Rams game, which he finished.
He’s playing because he has to. Backup guard and tackle Jamarco Jones is Seattle’s Plan C at center.
“Kyle, he’s going to be ready to go in the game,” Carroll said.
“He was really tough about it. ...He’s just going to tough it out.”
The miracles of modern medicine.
High-ankle sprains, ligament damage higher up the leg above the joint, often take weeks or more to heal. The coach said the fact Fuller has had a high-ankle sprain before has helped him deal with this one. The Seahawks kept him out of practices Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday so Fuller can play Thursday.
The Seahawks will again be without starting cornerback Shaquill Griffin (hamstring) and Quinton Dunbar (knee).
Expect Tre Flowers and new fill-in D.J. Reed to play again outside at cornerback against Kyler Murray, DeAndre Hopkins and the Cardinals.
Murray completed 34 of 48 passes for 360 yards and three touchdowns while running 14 times for 67 more yards in these teams’ first meeting.
This story was originally published November 18, 2020 at 1:41 PM.
