RENTON — Walter Jones was back in the Seahawks locker room Monday, packing up his things along with the rest of his teammates.
The big question facing the big left tackle now is whether he will ever be back in that room.
Jones, who turns 36 later this month, missed the entire season with a knee injury. He says his knee is progressing well and that he hopes to be back next season, but also acknowledged that his return is not a given.
“It’s going pretty good,” Jones said of his recovery. “It’s going pretty good. I got a chance to get away, and do the things I needed to do to try to get back.”
Jones missed the final four games of the 2008 season and had microfracture surgery on his left knee that December. He returned briefly to training camp last summer, but didn’t play in a game and eventually was placed on injured reserve. He said at that time, and reiterated Monday, that he isn’t ready to call it a career.
“That’s the goal,” he said. “I think the last time I talked I said I was going to do everything possible to get back, and I’m still on that road of trying to get back. Hopefully I still can. … My knee feels great. I’ve still got a long way to go with the knee, but from this point from when I left here, my knee feels a lot better and I feel pretty good in the direction that I’m going.”
Jones, who has been rehabbing the knee in Tampa Bay, said he doesn’t think the decision will linger all the way into training camp, noting that the team will have a say in his future, not just him. Jones is scheduled to earn $7.3 million next season, money the team won’t want to tie up in a player if they don’t think he can get healthy.
“I don’t think it’s going to be that situation,” Jones said when asked if the decision would come down to next summer. “I think it’s going to be a situation where the decision is going to be made pretty early. So hopefully in the next couple of months that decision is going to be made. … It’s going to be their decision if I still can go out there and perform at a high level.”
“I understand my age and what I’m coming back from, so I understand all of that, and all I can do is prepare. I think if I can do the same thing as everybody else, prepare myself and try everything I can to get back on the football field.”
And even though Jones hopes to come back, he is also aware that, given his age and recent injury history, his playing days could already be over.
“If it comes down to that, I have had a great career and if it’s over, I can accept that,” he said.
But even when discussing the serious topic of his NFL future, Jones was still able to provide a little levity when asked to handicap his chances of coming back next season.
“I don’t know man, I’m not a good golfer so I don’t know,” he said. “I feel good. I feel good about everything. It’s still going to take time and it’s going to be a situation where I’ve got to be smart about everything and they’ve got to be smart about everything and I understand that.”
Tatupu on schedule
Middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu, who missed the final 10 games of the season, said he is progressing well from the torn pectoral muscle that ended his season. Tatupu, who had surgery in October, said he hopes to participate in offseason lifting as well as minicamps in the spring.
“I’ve got about a month and a half to go, two months,” he said. “… I expect to (be ready for minicamps). I expect to be ready for offseason lifting, so I’m looking forward to that.”
Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more Seahawks coverage, check out the Seahawks blog at heraldnet.com/seahawksblog
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