Russell Wilson ‘way ahead of schedule’ recovering. But Seahawks don’t know what that means
Of course Russell Wilson is healing quickly from finger surgery.
It’s on par, and on brand, for the Seahawks’ $140 million franchise quarterback.
Six years ago, Wilson said the Tacoma-based “Recovery Water” in which he invested helped him bounce back immediately from banging his head in the 2015 NFC championship game.
Four years ago, doctors told him he should miss four weeks with an in-season knee injury. He didn’t miss a game.
Now his coach says a focused Wilson is “way ahead of schedule” coming back from surgery to repair a torn tendon and dislocation in the middle finger on his throwing hand three weeks ago.
Thing is, the Seahawks don’t know exactly when Wilson will play again.
“He’s pretty positive,” Carroll said Friday, after another practice when his injured-reserve QB was working on conditioning on the side.
Geno Smith will start his third consecutive game for Wilson Sunday when the Seahawks (2-5) play Jacksonville (1-5) at Lumen Field.
“He’s feeling really good,” Carroll said of Wilson. “His finger looks great, got all the stitches out and all that kind of stuff.
“He’s making all of the strides that he should be making, way ahead of schedule at this point.
“So, we’ll see what that means.”
After Carroll said that Friday and following practice, Wilson posted on his Twitter account: a picture of himself with a steely look and the words: “My focus. It never fades.”
Wilson must miss a minimum of three games, per NFL rules for injured-reserve players. He’s missed Seattle’s losses at Pittsburgh Oct. 17 and to New Orleans Monday night.
The Seahawks have a bye next week, Nov. 7. The first time Wilson could be eligible to play is Nov. 14 when Seattle is at Green Bay.
That has become the assumed return date for Wilson. Yet no one — not his doctor, his coach, his team or a league source who talked to The News Tribune this week about it — knows exactly when Wilson is going to play again.
The source told the TNT Wednesday there was nothing new, nothing happening to clarify a return date for Wilson. His recovery schedule remained uncertain, the situation fluid, the source said.
A report by NFL Network last Saturday said the pin that a surgeon in Los Angeles put in Wilson’s finger to stabilize it Oct. 7 would be removed within a week, by Saturday.
Friday Carroll said: “The pin isn’t out yet.”
Carroll said he didn’t have any clarity on the next step for Wilson.
“No, no,” the coach said.
“I mean, I have the clarity of, we don’t know. I’m very clear about that.”
This story was originally published October 29, 2021 at 3:05 PM.
