Marquise Blair has a broken knee cap, the latest Seahawks top pick to be off the field
Another top Seahawks draft choice is going to be giving the team nothing for the foreseeable future.
Marquise Blair broke his knee cap during the team’s 13-10 home loss to the New Orleans Saints Monday night, coach Pete Carroll said Tuesday. The safety and nickel defensive back is likely headed to injury reserve, where he spent the last 15 games of last season with torn knee ligaments.
Carroll announced Blair’s latest injury on his weekly day-after-game radio show on Seattle’s KIRO-AM Tuesday morning.
“He needs to get that cleaned up,” Carroll said.
Blair left the game in the fourth quarter after he got pushed slightly by Saints receiver Tre’Quan Smith and planted awkwardly on his leg into the wet turf. Smith got a penalty for offensive pass interference on the play.
That happened two plays after Blair blitzed off the edge straight past Alvin Kamara as the Saints running back romped for 12 yards on a third and 10. A stop there near midfield and the Saints likely don’t kick the winning field goal with 3:08 left later that drive.
Blair also had a costly penalty to begin that drive. On another third and long for New Orleans, Blair and teammates had quarterback Jameis Winston sacked for a drive stop. But Blair dropped his helmet and hit Winston with it into the QB’s face mask. That roughing penalty extended New Orleans’ drive.
After Monday night’s game Carroll said Blair had “a significant injury” with his patella, the small bone in front of his knee.
Blair was the team’s second-round pick in 2019 from Utah. He missed all but the first two games of last season with reconstructive surgery in his knee.
Running back Rashaad Penny, Seattle’s first-round pick from 2018, has missed chunks of all four of his NFL seasons with injury. He was out from December 2019 to December 2020 following reconstructive knee surgery. He returned Monday night from injured reserve and a calf injury, rushing six times for just 9 yards.
Defensive end Darrell Taylor, the team’s second-round pick in 2020, missed all his rookie season following leg surgery.
Defensive end/tackle L.J. Collier was a healthy inactive player for the fifth time in seven games Monday night. Veteran Robert Nkemdiche, who was waived in September then signed back onto the practice squad, has taken the job of Seattle’s first-round pick in 2019 on Seattle’s defensive line.
Wide receiver Dee Eskridge hasn’t played since leaving this season’s opener after two fly-sweep running plays and getting a concussion. The Seahawks’ first-round pick this year was in Florida this past week seeing medical specialists, Carroll said. Eskridge remains on injured reserve.
This story was originally published October 26, 2021 at 10:31 AM.
