Seahawks notebook: Prosise’s injury opportunity for Collins

Published 5:41 pm Wednesday, November 23, 2016

By Todd Milles

The News Tribune

RENTON — Coming off a brutal game for tailback injuries, it seems the Seahawks’ depth chart is already settling nicely.

Nicely for rookie Alex Collins, that is.

Thomas Rawls will be fine to play Sunday at Tampa Bay (5-5). His bumps and bruises from playing last weekend for the first time in two months are healing just fine. He is entrenched as the workhorse starter.

A week after being inactive while healthy, Collins moves up to being the primary backup for the NFC West leaders. The fifth-round rookie from Arkansas has 10 carries for 19 yards and a touchdown through Seattle’s 10 games.

Before he practiced in his new role Wednesday, Collins got a visit from coach Pete Carroll. Carroll emphasized to the rookie to seize this opportunity.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Collins said. “I’m looking forward to making the most of every opportunity I get.”

And it now appears the No. 3 tailback spot will be occupied by George Farmer. The Seahawks have also tried the second-year former wide receiver from USC at defensive back, running back and on its cut list in this calendar year. The team signed Farmer from its practice squad Wednesday to fill the open spot on the active roster available after the Seahawks (7-2-1) waived veteran offensive tackle J’Marcus Webb on Tuesday.

Farmer may be active for a NFL game for the first time on Sunday. Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said following Farmer practicing Wednesday that the running back has the same type of athleticism to be a third-down back as rookie C.J. Prosise, who broke his shoulder blade in his second NFL start last weekend’s win over Philadelphia.

But third-down backs need to pass block effectively. Bevell said that’s where Farmer needs to improve — and where he may get the chance to starting in Tampa.

“These guys have been really diligent about preparing for the opportunity,” Carroll said of Collins and Farmer.

Carroll noted Troymaine Pope, the team’s leading rusher in the preseason who left the win over the Eagles last weekend with a high-ankle sprain, has been “bouncing around” the facility already. Pope is still expected to miss multiple games.

Carroll said Monday it will likely be a couple weeks before the team knows whether Prosise will be able to play again this season.

Farmer is an intriguing talent. Coming out of Junipero Serra High School in Gardena, California, he was arguably the top wide receiver prospect in the country for 2011. He was also a teammate of Seahawks’ teammate Paul Richardson.

As a freshman at USC, he played in four games at running back. After playing sparingly as a sophomore, mainly at wide receiver, Farmer suffered a serious left knee injury during a non-contact drill in April of 2013 and missed that season. At the time, he was battling current NFL receivers Marqise Lee and Nelson Agholor for starting spots.

Farmer could never shake injuries at USC. He declared for the 2015 NFL Draft after his junior season. Dallas signed the 6-foot-1, 220-pounder as an undrafted free agent, but waived him a few months later.

Seattle signed him to its practice squad before last season, and converted him to cornerback. This season, Farmer moved to tailback.

“It was kind of difficult,” Farmer said. “I played a little running back here and there in college. It took watching some film to get acclimated to the position.”

After injuring his right foot in practice before the exhibition finale at Oakland, the Seahawks waived him as injured on Aug. 30. He said he spent the next eight weeks rehabilitating the injury back home in Southern California.

On Nov. 1, he rejoined the practice squad — but Seattle cut him three days later to sign Pope onto its practice squad. A week after that, Nov. 9, Farmer was back on the practice squad for his promotion Wednesday.

“Like we’ve said, it is next man up,” Farmer said. “It is the game of football. Guys go down. I am expected to come in and do what they ask. I am up for that opportunity.

“It is a huge opportunity.”

Baldwin, Bevell joke

It’s all good between Doug Baldwin and his play caller. Thanks for asking.

That was the gist of the Seahawks’ top wide receiver’s and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell’s playful responses to a popular sideshow to last weekend’s game: Baldwin breaking the huddle and flipping off Bevell on Seattle’s sideline after the receiver heard the play call for Baldwin to throw back to quarterback Russell Wilson for a touchdown.

Baldwin admitted following Sunday’s game his tall digit was because he wants to catch red-zone targets. He didn’t become a $46 million receiver after co-leading the NFL with a team-record 14 TD receptions last season by throwing the ball down there.

“Doug and I have a great relationship, first and foremost,” Bevell said, doing well to keep a semi-straight face after Baldwin clowned with him in front of cameras following Wednesday’s practice for Sunday’s game at Tampa Bay.

“I think Doug in his excitement, when he heard the play called in the huddle and knowing that he was going to get an opportunity to make Seahawk history, he was really excited and he wanted to tell ‘Bev’ that he was number one.

“And he just messed up a little bit there.

“If I could inspire him to make that perfect pass, then I’ll go ahead and take it.”

Why Webb’s gone

Webb started the first three games of the season when rookie right guard Germain Ifedi had a high-ankle sprain. But the veteran saw his role reduced mainly to special teams. Seattle’s highest-paid offensive lineman was inactive for the game against Philadelphia.

Webb’s release coincided with the way rookie third-round pick Rees Odhiambo has come on in the past couple of months.

“He knows what he’s doing now,” offensive line coach Tom Cable said of Odhiambo.

On Tuesday the Seahawks ate the $2.45 million they guaranteed to Webb in March when they signed him to a two-year contract.

“It’s just a matter of when the opportunity comes performing at the level that kind of keeps you going in the right direction,” Cable said of Webb’s exit.

When George Fant was injured against the Eagles, Odhiambo came in to play left tackle. Cable said Odhiambo performed “beautifully, which is pretty cool.”

“This is a really good deal for us,” Carroll said of his rookie offensive lineman improving over the course of their debut seasons. “It’s really what we were hoping to see.”

Extra points

Cable walked up to Bradley Sowell at practice and told the veteran he looks like he is finally physically ready to compete — at right tackle with starter Garry Gilliam. Sowell sprained the medial collateral ligament in his right knee Oct. 23 in the fourth quarter of the overtime tie at Arizona. … Eleven Seahawks missed practice. That’s an indicator it’s late November and veterans are resting from a physical game with the Eagles. Cornerback Richard Sherman has a new listing of an ankle injury, but he talked to the media as usual on Wednesday. That’s usually an indication a guy will play. … Center Justin Britt missed practice with an ankle injury.