CHENEY – And then there were two.
With Wednesday’s return of three defensive linemen who had missed the first 19 days of training camp, the Seattle Seahawks have all but two players back from offseason surgeries. Wide receiver Darrell Jackson (knee) and defensive tackle Marcus Tubbs (Achilles) are the only players on the Seahawks’ active roster who have yet to participate in training camp.
Wednesday marked the returns of Grant Wistrom, Rocky Bernard and Joe Tafoya, all of whom had been rehabilitating from offseason surgeries. All three players saw limited action in the morning practice as the team eases them back to full speed. Only Wistrom took part in contact drills, and he was only on the field for one play.
“Little by little, they’re coming back,” said coach Mike Holmgren, who does not expect the trio to play in Sunday’s game against Indianapolis. “This week’s a big week. We want to get them out on the field and running around, and hopefully we’ll get them practicing next week full go.”
Not all the news was good, however, on the injury front. Middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu sat out Wednesday’s practice with what Holmgren described as “a little groin pull.” The injury is not believed to be serious.
The addition of the three defensive linemen added to a position that was getting pretty thin.
“Guys were pretty happy going through individual (drills) because the line was a lot longer,” Bernard said.
While most offseason surgeries came in February or March, Bernard did not have his until May. He was experiencing swelling in his right knee late last season, but didn’t decide to go under the knife until the condition carried over into the offseason.
He had surgery to repair a torn bursa sac about three months ago.
“It felt pretty good,” Bernard said after Wednesday’s practice. “I was going through pretty much all the stuff, so it was good.”
Bernard didn’t like having to miss the start of camp.
“It was difficult,” he said. “You see all your teammates out there practicing, and you just want to get back out and get to work. So it feels good. Everyone’s been teasing us that we’ve been sagging off a bit. But it’s all right.”
Wistrom missed all the minicamps and the first 2 weeks of training camp after undergoing surgery on a torn labrum, but he still had the typical bounce in his step when moving from drill to drill Wednesday.
“My legs feel pretty good,” he said. “I haven’t been grinding for three weeks now, so I probably feel a little quicker than everybody else out there. But that’ll go away pretty quick, I’m sure.”
Wistrom was so eager that he ran onto the field for one play of 11-on-11 with the scout team defense before defensive coordinator John Marshall ordered him back to the sideline.
“I talked to the trainer and told (defensive line coach Dwaine Board) I was going out there,” Wistrom said. “But when John saw out there, he pulled me pretty quick. We’ll get that rectified (Thursday), and hopefully I’ll get a few more snaps.”
Holmgren said that Wistrom’s energy was already having an effect on his teammates.
“It’s infectious,” Holmgren said. “It carries over to the rest of the defense.”
Holmgren is hoping that Jackson and Tubbs return next Tuesday, along with several players who have been injured during camp – wide receiver D.J. Hackett (hamstring) and guard Floyd Womack (hamstring) are the most notable.
Gradually, the Seahawks are getting everyone back – especially on defense.
“We’re going to have to come together and grow,” Wistrom said. “That’s what most teams do during training camp, but with the number of injuries we’ve had on defense it will be a little slow coming.
“We have a year under our belt, and we’ve played together. We’re not going to pick up right where we left off last year. But at the same time, we’re going to have to exceed what we did last year.”
Quick slants: Former Seahawk Jerry Rice was in town Wednesday as part of a national radio broadcast that’s touring NFL training camps. “I enjoy seeing him a lot,” Holmgren said. “He has made my life richer by being around him.” … Rookie Rob Sims continued to work as the starting left guard Wednesday, but he drew Holmgren’s ire on one play when a pass rusher got by him. … Wide receiver Skyler Fulton (torn labrum) has not participated at training camp but does not count against the official roster count because he was injured playing in NFL Europe.
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