Thomas may miss first game of Seahawks career

Published 9:26 pm Wednesday, November 23, 2016

RENTON — Teammates and coaches are wrapping their heads around the strong likelihood Earl Thomas will not be playing with them this weekend.

No Seattle Seahawks have had to fathom that before.

Coach Pete Carroll said Wednesday he considers Thomas, the team’s record holder for most consecutive starts by a defensive player, as doubtful to play on Sunday at Tampa Bay. That’s because of a strained hamstring the three-time All-Pro free safety got in the third quarter of last weekend’s win over Philadelphia running in coverage with teammate Richard Sherman on a deep post route.

“He’s got a mild strain of the hamstring,” Carroll said before Wednesday’s practice. “We are going to go slow with him this week to make sure we are doing the right thing. We won’t rush him, at all.”

Carroll said doubtful is a term he would use — even if Thomas himself doesn’t believe it.

He has started 106 regular-season games in a row to begin his career, six more than Hall-of-Fame defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy had from (1990-97). Guard Chris Gray has the Seahawks’ record for all players with 121 consecutive starts from 1999-2006. Thomas has also started all 12 of Seattle’s postseason games since the team drafted him in the first round six years ago.

That’s all 118 games since the start of Seattle’s 2010 season. The Seahawks have not played without Thomas in this decade.

“You know him,” Sherman said, “he pretty much thinks he’s going to play. So he gets hurt, no stopping him from thinking he’s going to play.”

Exactly. Thomas doesn’t major in precaution. He isn’t wired to preserve himself this week for the benefit of better health for his team’s playoff push in December and into January. Or do you forget he played the end of the January 2015 NFC championship game and all of Super Bowl 49 two weeks later with a torn labrum in his shoulder that kept him from being able to lift his left arm and required surgery that offseason.

How much does Carroll need to guard the famously intense Thomas from himself this week, if need be?

Well, the coach mentioned hiding his helmet.

“He seems to be in a good place handling this,” Carroll said. “You would think that he would do everything he can, which he is, to get right. But I think he’s going to be mature about it and go along with the decision.

“We won’t give him his helmet, because he might go out and play.”

The coach smiled at that thought and added, “We’ll take care of him.”

Seahawks middle linebacker Bobby Wagner has played every one of his 76 regular-season and playoff games in the NFL with Thomas lined up behind him.

Can Wagner imagine playing a game without Thomas?

“I cannot,” Wagner said. “I’ve never played a game without Earl Thomas. Doesn’t he have some crazy streak of games?

“Yeah, I’ve never not looked back and seen 29 back there. So if he doesn’t play it’s going to definitely be weird.”

Wagner called the second half of last weekend’s win over the Eagles played without Thomas “weird.”

“It’s strange. Especially a guy like that. He’s always talking,” Wagner said. “He’s always trying to alert you to things. That’s why it’s kind of like something’s missing.”

Steven Terrell replaced Thomas in that second half. Carroll said the usual special-teams mainstay will make his first career start if Thomas can’t play at free safety on Sunday.

“Earl never comes out,” Terrell said. He is such a competitor, and I know it really hurt him not to be able to finish (last weekend’s) game out.

“If my role on Sunday is to go out and start, I will be ready for that. If that is not the case, I will still be ready. It would be a pretty cool thing to go in there and play.

“Hate to see Earl down. Going in there (though), I felt pretty comfortable.”

Kelcie McCray could also play free safety and has practiced there. McCray started four games at strong safety last month into the first week of November while Kam Chancellor was out with a pulled groin.

Starting cornerback DeShawn Shead also has a hamstring strain of similar severity to Thomas — on Monday Carroll estimated those will take 10-14 days to heal. Carroll said Wednesday that Shead is in the same situation as Thomas regarding Sunday’s game at the Buccaneers.

“It’s going to be hard for those guys to make it back,” Carroll said.

If Thomas and Shead cannot play, half the Seahawks’ starting secondary will be missing against hot quarterback Jameis Winston, top, physical receiver Mike Evans and the Buccaneers (5-5), who are one game out of first place in the NFC South.

Jeremy Lane would move from nickel back to cornerback for Shead on base-defense downs. When Seattle goes to five defensive backs in passing situations Lane would go back to nickel and Neiko Thorpe would play for Shead at cornerback.

The Seahawks defense will be without another star Sunday; former Buc Michael Bennett apparently will not be playing against his former team.

The Pro Bowl defensive end had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Nov. 2.

“It’s going to be really hard for Mike to make it this week. We were hoping and he was really hopeful, but I think it’s going to be pretty tough,” Carroll said. “It’s going to be a big turnaround.

“It looks more like he’ll be ready to go next week (for the Dec. 4 home game against Carolina).”