RENTON — Beast Mode is returning to a CenturyLink Field near you.
Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch is set to return from injury for Sunday’s home game against the Carolina Panthers, which should add another element to Seattle’s run game.
“He should be ready to go,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said Wednesday at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center. “We’re going to do the week so that he’ll practice full-go (Thursday) and Friday. He went through walkthroughs today, he’s going to run today for conditioning purposes. He looks great, he looks ready to go.”
Lynch suffered the injury late in the first half of Seattle’s 26-0 home victory over Chicago three weeks ago and did not return. He sat out both Seattle’s 13-10 home win over Detroit and Seattle’s 27-24 overtime loss at Cincinnati because of the injury. There was a thought that Lynch would be able to return against the Bengals last Sunday, but the Seahawks decided not to risk it.
In Lynch’s absence, Thomas Rawls filled in admirably. The undrafted rookie gained 104 yards on 16 carries in relief of Lynch against Chicago, had a tougher time against Detroit as he was limited to 48 yards on 17 carries, then broke out big time against Cincinnati with 169 yards on 23 carries, including an electric 69-yard touchdown run.
But while Carroll expressed full confidence in Rawls, he said he plans on putting the ball back into Lynch’s hands with a full workload.
“I think he’s earned that,” Carroll said when asked if Lynch gets the No. 1 job back. “But Thomas will be there for him when Marshawn needs a break. We’ll jump in and be excited to see what Thomas will do, too. He’s really made a big statement about how he fits in with our style of play and we’re thrilled about that, so we won’t hesitate. There’s always been a rotation there to some extent, we want to keep Marshawn as fresh as we can and keep him at a really high tempo, so we’ll do that like we’ve done in the past, but Thomas will be the No. 2.”
Transactions
The Seahawks added two players to their 53-man roster, signing free-agent cornerback Crezdon Butler and adding linebacker Nick Moody from their practice squad.
Butler was originally a fifth-round pick in the 2010 draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Since then he has kicked around the league, being a part of seven different organizations, most recently in Detroit. He provides depth at cornerback after the Seahawks had to put Tharold Simon (toe) on injured reserve, then also played without Marcus Burley (thumb) and Tye Smith (hip) last week.
Moody was a sixth-round pick by the San Francisco 49ers in the 2013 draft. He was released by the 49ers just before the season began and subsequently signed to Seattle’s practice squad. Moody provides insurance at middle linebacker in case starter Bobby Wagner (pectoral) is unable to play Sunday.
Butler and Moody take the roster spots freed up when the Seahawks released receiver B.J. Daniels and running back Rod Smith on Tuesday. Smith was subsequently claimed Wednesday by Dallas, joining Christine Michael as former Seattle running backs picked up on the cheap by the Cowboys the past six weeks. Daniels went unclaimed and is a candidate to be signed to Seattle’s practice squad.
Check out Nick Patterson’s Seattle Sidelines blog at http://www.heraldnet.com/seattlesidelines, and follow him on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.
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