Seahawks bring Chris Carson off injured reserve to practice. Will he play in Green Bay?
Chris Carson has now joined Russell Wilson and Dee Eskridge in coming off the injured list to practice.
Will their lead running back and key to a complete offense play with Wilson and Eskridge in the Seahawks’ game Sunday against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers?
Seattle designated Carson off injured reserve to return to practice Wednesday. It was Carson’s first practice in more than a month, following a flare up of his long-term neck condition.
The team’s plan was for Carson to ease back to practicing on Wednesday, then ramp up more on Thursday. If Carson can get through those practices and Friday’s on the travel day with no discomfort in his neck, he will be on track to play against the Packers.
“He’ll get banged around a little bit (Thursday), and (we’ll) just see how he responds to it,” coach Pete Carroll said. “It’s pretty important that we get a good bead on this one.
“He’ll feel good, physically, running around and all that. He’s in great shape. He’s been working really hard. It’s how he responds (the rest of this week) and how he reacts to the workload.”
Carroll had said the constant pain in Carson’s neck — “discomfort,” in the coach’s word — was why he has remained out since last playing Oct. 3 at San Francisco.
Carson’s neck pain was gone as of Wednesday morning.
“Yes. That’s why he’s back,” Carroll said. “And, hopefully, it will stay that way.”
Carson has missed the last four games. Alex Collins has been replacing him as the team’s lead rusher. The Seahawks (3-5) have rushed for fewer than 93 yards in three of those four games Carson’s missed. They’ve lost three of those four games.
Seattle is 21st in the NFL in rushing, averaging 102.9 yards per game this season.
That is not why Carroll hired first-time play caller Shane Waldron to be the team’s new coordinator in January. Waldron is with Seattle to base the offense on Carson’s running.
Without the consistent threat of the Seahawks running effectively since Carson has been out, opponents have been rushing the passer effectively again this season, and without caution. The Seahawks have allowed 15 sacks of fill-in quarterback Geno Smith while Carson and Wilson have been out the last four games.
The Packers (7-2) and their defense have the sixth-most sacks in the league this season (21).
Carroll refused to say if the team will impose a limit on Carson for carries or plays Sunday, the following week when the Seahawks host Arizona (8-1) or beyond.
“I don’t know that,” Carroll said.
Then the coach added, more to the point: “I don’t want anyone else to know that, either.”
That is, should Carson prove this week ready to return to play.
For the second consecutive practice, Wilson threw without a glove or wrap apparent over his repaired middle finger on his right hand.
“You would never have known,” Wilson had hand surgery Oct. 8, Carroll said.
The coach said Wilson doesn’t need to wear anything to protect his finger in the game Sunday, and that it’s up to the quarterback if he will use one of the many options he’s been exploring to perhaps wear.
“He doesn’t have to wear anything unless he chooses to,” Carroll said. “He has been experimenting with some stuff to see what’s out there for him.”
Eskridge practiced Monday and Wednesday for the first times since the team’s top rookie draft choice got concussed running the second of his two fly sweeps in Seattle’s opening game Sept. 12 at Indianapolis.
The wide receiver is also an option to return kickoffs, which wide receiver Freddie Swain has been doing since last season and while Eskridge has missed the last two months.
“We have to take our guys one day at a time as we are coming back, Russ, too,” Carroll said. “That’s how we are doing it, with high hopes and expectations that it will be OK. We still have to wait and see. We expect him to feel good.
“We have cleared our guys, but we still have to wait.”
This story was originally published November 10, 2021 at 2:43 PM.
