RENTON — For the second time in as many years, Seattle Seahawks tight end Anthony McCoy’s season could be over before it has a chance to get going.
McCoy was carted off the field during Tuesday’s practice with a left Achilles injury, and Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll did not sound optimistic about the tight end. In a cruel twist, McCoy missed all of last season with a torn Achilles in his right leg.
“Early indication is he hurt is other Achilles,” Carroll said. “If it is what they think it is, it’s just a real heartbreaker. He worked so hard to get back and all, and if it was the same Achilles you might understand it, but we think it’s the other one. We’ll see what happens.”
A serious Achilles injury almost always means a tear, and a torn Achilles almost always means a lost season, so it’s easy to understand why Carroll would feel heartbroken for a player he has coached since McCoy was at USC.
McCoy tore his right Achilles during Organized Team Activities in May of 2013, which left the Seahawks without an obvious option for a third tight end. Seattle ended up signing veteran Kellen Davis, though he was not the same pass-catching threat as McCoy, who had 18 catches for 291 yards and three touchdowns in 2012.
McCoy, a sixth-round pick in 2010, was the favorite to be Seattle’s third tight end along with Zach Miller and Luke Willson. But now if he is indeed lost for the year with another torn Achilles, the battle for third tight end spot is wide open with Cooper Helfet, RaShaun Allen and Morrell Presley all in the mix (Presley, who signed last week, is listed as a receiver, but played tight end in college and has been working with the tight ends since arriving at camp).
Guard James Carpenter (calf) and middle linebacker Bobby Wagner (hamstring) both left practice early, but Carroll indicated neither had any serious issues, saying both just had muscle tightness. Rookie linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis sat with an oblique injury, which Carroll said “is not a serious deal.”
Tackle Michael Bowie, who has been out since suffering a shoulder injury on the first day of camp, as well as receiver Kevin Norwood (foot) should be back tomorrow or the next day, Carroll said.
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