Double-good Seahawks news: ‘Warrior’ Geno Smith, Kenneth Walker full-go prep for Vikings
Either Geno Smith absolutely is starting and playing through injury this weekend — or the Seahawks are wasting a lot of valuable preparation time on the wrong guy.
Smith jogged onto the field to Seahawks practice Thursday four days after he injured his knee getting his lower leg hit and twisted in his team’s loss to the Green Bay Packers. He took every play the first-team offense ran in practice, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said.
The team listed Smith as a full practice participant for the second consecutive day.
All those signs and more point to Smith starting instead of backup Sam Howell Sunday when the Seahawks (8-6) fight to keep their division-title hopes realistic against the blitzing, deceptive defense of the Minnesota Vikings (12-2) at Lumen Field (1:05 p.m., channel 13).
“He looked really good,” Grubb said of Smith and his knee. “He took all the reps today. He did great. He looks great.
“He’s a warrior, man.”
In good news on top of good news for the Seahawks, lead running back Kenneth Walker is also on track to play this almost-must-win game Sunday.
Walker practiced Thursday for the first time in two weeks. He was a full participant for the first time since last month. He’s missed the last two games with a calf injury he got playing through Seattle’s win at the New York Jets Dec. 1.
Grubb regards Walker as one of the best tackle-breakers in the game. If Walker’s back in the offense Sunday the play caller is likely to feature him to give the Seahawks a dimension they’ve lacked all month.
Zach Charbonnet has started the last two games Walker’s missed. That included his career-best game of 133 yards rushing with two touchdowns two games ago in Seattle’s win at Arizona. Charbonnet returned to practice Thursday on a limited basis. He missed Wednesday with an oblique issue.
This story was originally published December 19, 2024 at 4:12 PM.
