The Seahawks will head to Arizona to face a dangerous pass rush minus two of their starting linemen, but it could be worse. Guard J.R. Sweezy returned to action Friday after missing the previous two days of practice, and will play, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said, but left tackle Russell Okung and center Max Unger won’t play.
That means Alvin Bailey will start at left tackle, while Lemuel Jeanpierre would presumably be the starter at center for the fourth straight game. Carroll did, however say Patrick Lewis took reps at center this week too, and could be an option there. That likely has to do with Sweezy’s injury, as Jeanpierre is also an option at guard, so should Sweezy not make it through the game, you could see Lewis come in to play center with Jeanpierre moving over to guard.
On Unger, who has missed four games with a high ankle sprain (the knee portion of that injury is not longer an issue, according to Carroll), Carroll said, “He didn’t recover from (the work he did in practice last week)… He was pushing to get there for last week’s game and couldn’t make it. It’s one of those high ankles that takes a long time. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t, and this one captured him a little.”
“He’s got a chance for next week and we’ll look at it in that regard.”
On Sweezy, Carroll said, “He had a great day today, he’s ready to go.”
While the Seahawks will miss Okung, particularly in pass protection, Carroll is confident that Bailey will take a step forward from his performance in relief last week now that he had a whole week at one position.
“It makes a big difference, because every snap he takes in practice is focused on left tackle, every moment in the meetings is all focused on play there as opposed to looking at guard and tackle and left side, right side, all of that kind of stuff that he’s had to do in the past,” Carroll said. “So it certainly helps, and he had a good solid week.”
Paul Richardson, who was a surprise addition to the injury report Thursday with a hamstring injury, “was fine today,” Carroll said. “We just gave him a break yesterday.”
WR Chris Matthews, who has been a big contributor on special teams the past two games since his promotion off the practice squad, is questionable with a hamstring injury that happened in Thursday’s practice.
“He tweaked his hammy yesterday right at the end of practice, so we rested him today and we’ll see how he goes the next couple of day,” Carroll said. “The MRI didn’t show anything, but we’ve got to make sure he’s OK.”
TE Tony Moeaki, who hurt his shoulder last week, is also questionable: “He’s getting better. He felt better today. We went really easy on him today, we’ll see where he is when we get to the stadium.”
DE Demarcus Dobbs is going to miss another game with an ankle injury, but Carroll said he is improving: “He’ll make it back before the end of the season. He’s making good progress, but he’s not ready yet.”
Here are the full injury reports for both teams:
SEAHAWKS
Out: LT Russell Okung (chest, didn’t practice).
Doubtful: DE Demarcus Dobbs (ankle, DNP), C Max Unger (knee/ankle, DNP).
Questionable: TE Tony Moeaki (shoulder, DNP), WR Chris Matthews (hamstring, DNP).
Probable: TE Cooper Helfet (ankle, full participation), RB Marshawn Lynch (back, full), G J.R. Sweezy (ankle, full), WR Paul Richardson (hamstring, full).
CARDINALS
Out: G Jonathan Cooper (wrist, DNP).
Doubtful: QB Drew Stanton (knee, DNP).
Questionable: WR Jaron Brown (toe, limited).
Probable: T Jared Veldheer (ankle, full), G Paul Fanaika (ankle, full), WR Larry Fitzgerald (knee, full), LB Lorenzo Alexander (knee, full), DE Calais Campbell (hip, full), S Tyrann Mathieu (thumb, full), RB Kerwynn Williams (knee, full), LB Larry Foote (knee, full).
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
