RENTON — Matt Hasselbeck was reduced to the role of spectator because of a concussion as the Seattle Seahawks kicked off the week of practice, but for now head coach Pete Carroll is hopeful that his quarterback will be able to play.
“He’s feeling pretty good and we’ll look for him to practice tomorrow,” Carroll said of Hasselbeck, who was injured in Sunday’s loss to the Raiders. “He’s still involved with everything that’s going on, but he won’t take any of the workload today, we’ll see how he does in the morning tomorrow. It’s a great day for Charlie (Whitehurst) to get the opportunity to run the club for a day and he’s going to take full advantage of that.”
Hasselbeck may be the highest profile player who is injured, but he is hardly alone. In all, 10 players sat out Wednesday’s practice, and several of them will likely miss Sunday’s game against the New York Giants.
Defensive tackle Colin Cole has what Carroll called a severe ankle sprain and won’t play Sunday. “He’ll miss a couple of weeks,” Carroll said. Receiver Golden Tate (ankle) was wearing a protective boot and on crutches Wednesday, and is also likely to miss Sunday’s game, Carroll said. Receiver Mike Williams has a bruised knee and didn’t practice, but should be available Sunday.
Left tackle Russell Okung (ankle) didn’t practice as the team had hoped he might be able to, but could still conceivably play, Carroll said. Okung’s backup, Tyler Polumbus, also sat out with a knee sprain. Center Chris Spencer was a surprise addition to the injury list — Carroll hadn’t mentioned him when running down the list of injuries — missing Wednesday with a neck injury.
Defensive tackle Brandon Mebane, who has missed three games with a calf injury, didn’t practice, but likely will play Sunday. Cornerbacks Kelly Jennings (hamstring) and Walter Thurmond (concussion) both practiced fully. Fullback Michael Robinson (hamstring) didn’t practice and is day-to-day according to Carroll.
As for the two players put on injured reserve Tuesday, defensive end Red Bryant has a torn MCL and will have surgery today. Guard Ben Hamilton, who has a history of concussion problems, sustained a concussion in Sunday’s game in Oakland and doctors decided it is best for him to sit out the rest of the year.
Chris Clemons also sat out, but that was a coach’s decision, likely simply to rest the defensive end. Safety Jordan Babineaux was limited because of an illness.
Seahawks sign three
With so many injuries, the Seahawks addressed a few needs Wednesday, signing receiver Ruvell Martin, who was with the team in training camp, defensive end Jay Richardson, a former Oakland Raider, and center Chris White, who started eight games for Houston last season. Seattle also added defensive tackle Frank Okam on Tuesday.
No Moss
The Seahawks declined to put a waiver claim on receiver Randy Moss, who was released by the Vikings this week. Had Seattle claimed Moss, they would have gotten him. Tennessee, which was lower in waiver priority than Seattle, claimed Moss.
“It wasn’t much of a consideration for us,” Carroll said. “He’s at a stage in his career that he’s on his way doing his thing. We feel like we like the way we’re working, the way we’re going right now and didn’t feel like we should go in that direction.”
Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more Seahawks coverage, check out the Seahawks blog at heraldnet.com/seahawksblog
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