Coming off one of its most complete games this season, the Seahawks’ offensive line is losing its trigger man.
Seattle (7-2) will be without starting center Jalen Sundell Sunday when the team goes to Inglewood, California, to play the Los Angeles Rams (7-2) for first place in the NFC West. Sundell, who has started the first nine games, left the Seahawks’ 44-22 win over Arizona this past Sunday with a knee injury.
Olu Oluwatimi replaced Sundell for the final two-plus quarters of the Arizona game. Oluwatimi was Seattle’s starting center for the last two months of the 2024 season, following the abrupt retirement of Connor Williams 12 months ago.
Sundell, an undrafted rookie from North Dakota State last year, beat out Oluwatimi for the job in training camp this past summer. He was more athletic getting to blocks on linebackers and even safeties on the third level of defenses down the field.
He’s been centering an offensive line that has allowed quarterback Sam Darnold to be sacked only 10 times through nine games. Asked how long Sundell may be out, coach Mike Macdonald said Monday afternoon: “It’s going to be multiple weeks. I’d say IR (injured reserve) is under consideration.”
If the team puts him on injured reserve, Sundell will miss a minimum of the next four games. The soonest he could return to play would be Dec. 14, when Indianapolis comes to Lumen Field.
“Not season-ending, as of today,” Macdonald said.
“He’s tough as crap. We’ll see how it goes. Hopefully we’ll get him back (next month).”
With Sundell then Oluwatimi replacing him at center, Seattle’s offensive line plowed a season-high 46 times in the running game for a season-best 198 yards against the Cardinals. Seattle romped to a 35-0 lead. The offense then ran 25 times after halftime, while throwing only two passes.
Yet Oluwatimi made multiple mistakes. On his first play after Sundell limped off the field with 9 minutes left in the second quarter, Oluwatimi lifted the ball before snapping it from the Cardinals 1-yard line to quarterback Sam Darnold. That snap infraction was a 5-yard penalty that pushed Seattle back to the 6.
On the next snap, Oluwatimi blocked and spun Arizona’s Dalvin Tomlinson to the turf as running back Zach Charbonnet ran past them for a 6-yard touchdown. That increased the Seahawks’ lead to 35-0.
On his third snap, after a change of possession with the Seahawks backed against their goal line, Oluwatimi didn’t get the ball back cleanly to Darnold. The Cardinals recovered that fumble at the 2-yard line, then scored their first touchdown.
“Those are things that we can work operationally,” Macdonald said.
They’re going to have to. They won’t beat the Rams malfunctioning on snaps and giving L.A. the ball on their own goal line.
“Well, the first one was with Olu. I think was the first snap, so that’s something we have to be better at,” Macdonald said..
“Happened again over there in four-minute (situation, in the fourth quarter) with Drew (Lock) and Bryce (Cabledue).
“Can’t have the ball on the ground in snaps.”
Cabledue, a rookie guard and tackle, replaced Oluwatimi midway through the fourth quarter when the Seahawks’ reserves entered with Lock, the backup quarterback. Center depth now
The Seahawks have Christian Haynes as an option to back up Oluwatimi at center. Haynes is entering the final week of him practicing coming off injured reserve before the Seahawks have to add him to the active roster, put him back on IR to end his season, or release or trade him.
Haynes failed multiple times last year to win the starting right guard job as a rookie third-round draft choice. He failed to win it again in training camp this summer; Anthony Bradford won that competition and is starting there. In the meantime, Seattle’s previous offensive coaching staff late last season began practicing Haynes as a backup center.
New offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and new line coaches John Benton and Rick Dennison continued working Haynes as a backup center this summer when it became apparent he wasn’t winning the guard spot over Bradford.
Haynes played in an outside-zone blocking scheme similar to what Kubiak, Benton and Dennison are using this Seahawks season, when he played for the University of Connecticut. That familiarity had him starting at right guard when training camp began in late July. Then Bradford was clearly better.
Macdonald said Haynes will practice at both backup guard and backup center this week.
The coach also said of Bradford, “I thought he played one of his better games” against Arizona.
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