Russell Wilson at L.A. hand specialist, mallet finger, missing weeks a possible diagnosis
Russell Wilson is in Los Angeles.
And the Seahawks’ season is in limbo.
Pete Carroll said about 14 hours after Wilson badly injured the middle finger on his throwing hand in Seattle’s home loss to the Rams, his indispensable $140 million franchise quarterback was in California Friday morning seeing a hand specialist.
He’s Dr. Steven Shin of Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Center in LA.
“He’s already traveling to get it looked at by a specialist and make sure we know exactly what we need to know so the decision can be really clear,” Carroll said.
“He’s getting looked at by an expert this morning, then I will know more. I don’t know much more than (Thursday) night.
“We’ve just got to wait and see what they assess.”
Minutes earlier, on his day-after radio show with KIRO AM, Carroll said “it could be” a mallet finger injury. That’s a torn or badly stretched tendon in the middle finger of his throwing hand that causes it to bend in, toward the palm.
Holding and gripping a football with what Wilson has proved impossible during Thursday night’s game, after his hand hit the arm of Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald on the follow through of Wilson’s incomplete pass beyond Tyler Lockett with 7 minutes left in the third quarter.
The National Health Service of the United Kingdom says mallet finger requires a splint that “must be worn day and night for six to eight weeks to allow the two ends of the torn tendon to stay together and heal. ...
“Surgery is only needed if you also have a broken finger, the skin is broken, or in rare cases where mallet finger fails to heal.”
The skin did not appear broken on Wilson’s finger when doctors and trainers looked at it on the Seahawks sideline immediately after the injury. Carroll said Wilson had X-rays, but he didn’t say what those images showed.
Thursday night, Carroll said when asked if Wilson would need surgery “I don’t know.”
“I’ve heard a lot of stuff, but I’m passing along information improperly if I do. Let’s just wait.
“We will know a lot more by the end of the day....I’m going for a specialist and see what he tells us.
“But there’s something going on. There’s definitely something going on. And we’ve got to figure what the extent of it is, what is the next step to deal with.”
Wilson, 32, has never missed a game in his 10-year career. That’s 165 consecutive starts.
The Seahawks play next in nine days, at Pittsburgh. For now, veteran Geno Smith is Seattle’s quarterback.
He hasn’t started a game since Dec. 3, 2017, for the New York Giants at Oakland.
Smith played for Wilson in the fourth quarter Thursday night. He completed all five passes on his first drive, including a 23-yard strike to DK Metcalf. He led a 98-yard drive despite not having played in the last 3 1/2 season beyond mop-up duty in one Seahawks game late last season.
“I’ll be ready,” Smith said after Thursday’s game.
Carroll said Wilson tried to re-enter the Rams game, then told the doctors and the coach he would hurt the team by trying to throw without being able to grip the ball.
“Nobody should question his toughness,” Carroll said. “If he could have thrown the ball or held onto it, he would have. ...He tried last night. Did not have the power to control the ball.”
