On the field at Levi’s Stadium for the last of his 42 snaps during the Seattle Seahawks’ 20-17 victory over the San Francisco 49ers, right tackle Abraham Lucas celebrated for multiple reasons when quarterback Geno Smith scored the go-ahead touchdown with 12 seconds remaining in the game.
“I can tell you for the last probably five or six plays I was breathing very heavy,” said Lucas, who starred at Archbishop Murphy High School and Washington State University before the Seahawks selected him in the 2022 draft. “It’s been almost a year since I’ve played, right? When Geno took off and I knew he was going to score, I said ‘Thank you Jesus’ then turned and walked towards the sidelines. I needed to go get some oxygen.”
Lucas started 17 games for the Seahawks as a rookie in 2022 before things took an unfortunate turn. The 6-foot-6, 322-pound lineman took the field in the season opener as the starter at right tackle but left the 30-13 loss to the LA Rams with an injury. He missed 10 games, then played in the next five. Prior to Sunday, his last snap came in a 30-23 loss to Pittsburgh on New Year’s Eve of 2023.
On Sunday, he started the game with a new head coach, a new offensive line coach and three new starters lined up to his left.
Lucas and the Seahawks have been quiet about the nature of the injury, other than there was some type of knee procedure in January. First-year Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald has said the recovery took longer than expected despite Lucas working hard to return. Macdonald liked what he saw from Lucas on Sunday, and said on Monday that his tackle came out of the game with no setbacks.
“Proud to see the process that he’s gone through to put himself in a position to go play winning football for us,” said Macdonald, whose team improved to 5-5 on Sunday. “Haven’t talked to Abe yet about what he thought of his performance yet, but I’m sure he’s pretty sore today. I’m sure there are some plays that he wants to improve on, but I thought he was off to a great start.”
Lucas started the game and played 70 percent of the team’s offensive snaps. Michael Jerrell, a rookie sixth-round draft pick, rotated in for 18 plays. Though Lucas has practiced for three weeks, game shape is a different deal. The Seahawks seemed pleased that he made it through 42 snaps.
Pro Football Focus gave Lucas solid grades for his first start in nearly a year. Though his limited playing time does not qualify for PFF rankings, his total grade of 76.8 would put him in the upper third of NFL offensive tackles. That grade is well above the others who have played right tackle for Seattle this season. George Fant, currently on injured reserve, started the opener and recorded a 61.3 grade. Stone Forsythe (43.8) and Michael Jerrell (43.1) struggled to fill in while Lucas recovered.
A strong effort by Lucas was needed to protect Smith in a close win over the 49ers (5-5) as the Seahawks try to claw back into playoff contention. He allowed one sack by 49ers standout defensive end Nick Bosa on a play where it appeared he expected help from running back Zach Charbonnet, but overall the team liked what they saw.
“For Abe, knowing how much he battled back from injury — he’s my locker mate — and talking to him every single day about how’s he feeling, where his mindset is at, he was locked in the entire time,” Smith said. “I knew when he steps on the field, he’s a difference maker. He means a lot to this team, he means a lot to me as my right tackle. I was really happy to have him out there.”
The offense was not a work of art against the 49ers. Kenneth Walker III managed just 54 yards on 14 carries. New center Olu Oluwatimi — who started after Connor Williams suddenly retired — sent a wobbly snap high and Smith couldn’t bring it in. Any win in Santa Clara, however, is a good win.
“It was just a really grimy, sort of gritty game, but we knew it was going to be,” Lucas said. “San Francisco has a really good front. They have really good head rushers. Their style of play and how they get off the ball and try to get off the field is a tough kind of system to block. We knew that coming in, so we wanted to try to set the tone as an offensive line.”
With Lucas ’ return and Oluwatimi’s mostly solid outing in his first start of the season, Macdonald believes the team has finally settled on a starting five that will continue to grow as a unit.
“People have been taking shots at our offensive line, but I thought our guys played really well (Sunday),” said Macdonald, whose team will host NFC West-leading Arizona (6-4) Sunday. “They protected Geno. I thought we really had a good protection plan. (Lucas) had a little more plays than we wanted him to play, but he was right at his number going into that last drive, so he fought through it. That guy’s an absolute warrior. Proud of him.”
This story originally appeared in seattlesportsnow.com, of which Aaron Coe is a co-founder. Follow Seattle Sports Now on X.
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