Will Chris Carson miss the rest of the Seahawks’ season with his neck condition?
There is a chance Chris Carson may not play again this season.
“He’s got to make a turn here, you know, to show us that he’s feeling better and good enough to really go for it,” coach Pete Carroll said Friday of his lead running back, who hasn’t played since Oct. 3 at San Francisco because of a neck condition.
“He hasn’t been able to go out to practice yet, and go.
“Pretty soon, you are going to say ‘Is he going to make it back?’ — just like you are asking. And I’m not ready to do that yet.
“But really keeping my fingers crossed for him that he is going to get a chance to come back and play.”
Carson is on injured reserve. He has been running up the grass berm outside the team facility with a trainer and in the training room keeping his conditioning up while Alex Collins starts for him. That will continue through Sunday when the Seahawks (2-5) play the Jacksonville Jaguars (1-5) at Lumen Field.
“He’s working out hard. But he’s not able to practice football yet.”
Carroll has been vague on exactly what is wrong with Carson’s neck. The coach has said the 27-year-old featured back who hasn’t completed a season injury-free since junior college has a “long-term condition” in his neck.
Carroll said Carson is not in condition to take any hits at the position that has the shortest career span in the NFL.
“It’s uncomfortable, basically. He has pretty good motion and flexibility, but it’s uncomfortable for him, the discomfort of what is going on,” Carroll said. “We have to get rid of that.”
This is why the market cratered on Carson this offseason, when he was seeking the money of Joe Mixon. Carson’s draft classmate in 2017 got a $48 million, four-year contract to re-sign with Cincinnati last year.
Carson shopped briefly as an unsigned free agent this spring, after Seattle let his rookie deal expire. He eventually returned to the Seahawks on a two-year deal worth $10.4 million with $5.5 million of that guaranteed to him this year.
Carson’s 12 games with at least 100 yards rushing since 2018 are fifth-most in the NFL. He was to be the centerpiece of new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron’s run-based system in 2021.
Carson’s gained 232 yards in four games with three touchdowns this season. The Seahawks are 16th in the league in rushing offense at 107.7 yards per game.
Collins is banged up, too. He’s had hip and groin issues since his 101-yard rushing game two weeks ago at Pittsburgh. That was the Seahawks’ first 100-yard day for a running back since Carson had one in 2019.
Collins is officially questionable to play against the Jaguars Sunday. Carroll said he’s likely to play.
Rashaad Penny just came off injured reserve last week. He had six carries for 9 yards in his first game since he strained his calf Sept. 12 in Seattle’s opener at Indianapolis.
Penny missed from December 2019-Dec. 2020 recovering from reconstructive knee surgery.
“I think he just got started on his return. He got enough carries to get out there and feel good about it. We didn’t get any spacing for him to get rolling,” Carroll said of Penny against the Saints Monday night.
“I’m anxious for him to get more reps this week and get going even more so. We need him to be part of it. I would love to see a battle for the 1-2 spot between he and Alex right now. ...We are going to give him some chances to do that. ...
“It’s nothing about Alex. I would just like to see Penny add in and see what he can bring.”
In overtime of the Seahawks’ loss at the Steelers Oct. 17, the team was down to two healthy running backs: second-year man DeeJay Dallas and third-down back Travis Homer. That forced Waldron to rely on Geno Smith, starting at quarterback right now for injured Russell Wilson, to win the game. Smith fumbled on the first play of a drive in Seattle’s end of the field in overtime. That handed the Steelers the game-winning field goal.
Running back isn’t exactly the position to invest heavily in, or count on, as the Seahawks are learning yet again with Carson.
“Yeah, there’s a few guys that go against that, but for the most part that’s what you get,” Carroll said of injuries and running backs. “Some guys just keep answering the call and they are out there every week. Derrick’s out there every time (Derrick Henry of Tennessee). You get Ezekiel (Elliott, with Dallas), those guys are pretty steady.
“It’s a hard position to play with everybody taking their shots at him. Some guys have just a way about them where they can handle the hit, they can handle the contact and maintain it.
“I think it is one (of the toughest positions to plan for). You see a lot of variation over the course of the season.”
This story was originally published October 29, 2021 at 3:56 PM.
