Seahawks-49ers pregame: Geno Smith doesn’t do early warmups. Kenneth Walker and a vet out
Geno Smith was on a pitch count before the game.
At least he was in uniform for the Seahawks. Their lead running back was not.
Smith didn’t throw early as he usually does well before Seattle’s Thanksgiving showdown against the San Francisco 49ers Thursday night. As coach Pete Carroll had promised, his quarterback was resting the bruised triceps on his throwing arm as much as possible before kickoff of the game for first place in the NFC West.
Smith came out for the first time 51 minutes before kickoff. He was wearing a black sleeve over his injured throwing arm. He hugged wide receiver Jake Bobo then began throwing with a motion, spiral and zip on the ball that looked normal.
Walker missed Thursday’s game, inactive with an oblique injury. He got hurt in the same game last weekend at the Los Angeles Rams in which Aaron Donald crunched Smith’s arm.
Walker being out meant the first career start for Zach Charbonnet, Seattle’s second-round draft choice from UCLA.
And it meant the NFL and Seahawks debut for rookie running back Kenny McIntosh. The seventh-round pick from Georgia is off injured reserve and the knee injury he’s been sidelined by since the first week of August.
He couldn’t wait for Thursday night.
“I’m going to be SO LIT!” McIntosh said Wednesday.
“On Thanksgiving!” McIntosh said. “My mom (Kyria in his hometown of Fort Lauderdale, Florida) just hit me on message, man, telling me how God is good! He got me this platform to go out there and showcase my talent when everybody is going to be watching. “It’s SO good, man! I’ve been waiting for this moment, and it’s finally here.”
Frank Clark was inactive. The edge pass rusher has been playing 38% of defensive snaps as edge rusher since signing back with Seattle last month.
Clark being inactive was a signal how important run defense was over pass rush for the Seahawks against Christian McCaffrey and the rugged 49ers.
Seattle’s other inactive players: injured wide receiver Dareke Young (abdomen), rookie nose tackle Cameron Young and reserve offensive linemen McClendon Curtis and Raiqwon O’Neal.
This story was originally published November 23, 2023 at 4:38 PM.
