RENTON — It remains undetermined whether the Seattle Seahawks will have the services of their workhorse running back Monday night.
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll had nothing new to report Thursday about the status of Marshawn Lynch’s injured hamstring, leaving it up in the air who will carry the load for Seattle’s backfield against the Detroit Lions.
“It’s going to take us all week to figure it out and see how he is,” Carroll said Thursday at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Lynch has missed only one game in six seasons since arriving in Seattle in 2010, that coming against Cleveland on Oct. 23, 2011 when he sat out with a back injury. Since 2011 he’s the NFL leader in rushing yards (5,485), touchdowns (56) and 100-yard games (24).
But Lynch suffered a hamstring injury while catching a fourth-down pass late in the first half of last Sunday’s 26-0 victory over Chicago, and he did not return. Lynch underwent an MRI on the injury on Monday, and Carroll said Thursday a decision on whether Lynch plays against the Lions may not be made until game time.
“We’ll just wait and see,” Carroll said. “We don’t need to make any big declarations right now. We’ll just wait and gather information and see how he does. I know he wants to play and is determined to try and do that. So we’ll just see how it goes, it may go all the way to game time.”
Therefore, the Seahawks are staring at the second straight week in which Lynch is a game-time decision — a last-minute call was made on Lynch against Chicago because of a calf injury. Lynch was active against the Bears, but didn’t emerge from the locker room until nearly eight minutes elapsed as he had difficulty getting loose before the game. He finished with just 14 yards on five carries.
In Lynch’s absence, undrafted rookie Thomas Rawls filled the void. Rawls stepped in with a breakout 16-carry, 104-yard performance, all but one of those carries coming in the second half. Rawls was listed as Seattle’s third-string back, behind Lynch and veteran Fred Jackson, who was signed just before the season began after being cut by the Buffalo Bills. But it was the rookie out of Central Michigan who received the bulk of the carries, getting the ball 16 times to just twice for Jackson.
Rawls said Thursday he’s ready to go if Lynch is unavailable.
“I go in with that mindset even when I was not playing,” Rawls said. “I just prepare as if I’m the starter. The backfield is good, we have good backs, and I know the expectations for the position.”
But are the Seahawks truly equipped for the possibility of Lynch being unavailable? Receiver Doug Baldwin said earlier in the week that the transition to someone other than Lynch would be “difficult” and that he didn’t “want to see that happen anytime soon.” Carroll, though expressing excitement about Rawls, also sounded uncertain if Seattle is ready for life without Lynch.
“If he can’t play we’ll find out,” Carroll said. “I like the way we ran the ball last week and were able to get after it. We really ran the ball pretty well in the first half, we just didn’t run it very much. But the numbers were up, the average was up in good order. We’ll see.
“How do you replace him?” Carroll continued “He’s a ridiculously good football player and has been a great player for us and a great factor for us forever it seems. We’ll just do the best we can. Guys have to step up. If that’s the case and we need that to happen, then Thomas and Freddie are going to jump up and do some stuff for us.”
It would all be moot if Lynch is able to play Monday. Jackson, who was also teammates with Lynch in Buffalo from 2007-10, said Lynch didn’t seem to be reacting any worse to the hamstring injury than he did to any past dings Jackson witnessed in the past.
“I think it’s just one of those things where he wants to make sure he can help us and he can contribute,” Jackson said. “Whenever he figures that out we’ll know just like you guys. I know he’s doing everything he can to get out there, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens.
“If we’re fortunate enough to have him on Monday it makes us a better team,” Jackson added. “If not, we have to pick up the slack.”
Carroll was non-committal when asked how the load would be divided between Rawls and Jackson should Lynch be unavailable Monday. Against Chicago in the second half, while Rawls received the bulk of the carries, Jackson tended to see snaps on third down, catching two passes to none for Rawls.
Extra points
Seahawks return man Tyler Lockett was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for September. The rookie had two return touchdowns in Seattle’s first three games, returning a punt 57 yards in the Seahawks’ 34-31 overtime loss at St. Louis in the season opener, then taking a kickoff a Seahawks-record 105 yards Sunday against Chicago. Lockett has averaged 13.4 yards per punt return and 34.3 yards per kick return. … Carroll said Seattle had two other players other than Lynch whose status may be unknown until Monday, those being defensive tackle Brandon Mebane (groin) and defensive end Demarcus Dobbs (shoulder), who picked up injuries against Chicago. Carroll was pessimistic about whether cornerback Tharold Simon (toe) or free safety Steven Terrell (hip flexor), who both sat out against the Bears, will be ready in time for Monday.
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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