RENTON — The starting offensive line seems set. Finally.
Thomas Rawls and C.J. Prosise “can play” in the final preseason game. Whether they will — or need to — is another matter.
An ESPN report citing “sources” said the Seattle Seahawks are trying to trade wide receiver Jermaine Kearse.
Seattle expects Tyler Lockett to play next weekend’s season opener at Green Bay in what would be his first game of any kind since he broke his leg on Christmas Eve. If and when he’s ready, he will go right back deep on punt and kick returns.
George Fant had successful surgery in Florida to reconstruct his knee he severely injured last week. Now the starting left tackle faces a long path of recovery in hopes of playing in 2018.
That was coach Pete Carroll’s — and an ESPN rumor’s — news for the Seahawks on Wednesday, prior to the team leaving for Thursday night’s preseason finale at Oakland.
Carroll said Frank Clark has a “legitimate” sprain in his right wrist, the coach’s usual word for an injury being more than minor. But Carroll said the team expects its 10-sack defensive end from 2016 to play Sept. 10 at Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.
Clark visited a specialist on Monday. He injured his right wrist in last week’s preseason game against Kansas City.
“The results of that came out really positive,” Carroll said. “He’s got a sore wrist. He’s got a legitimately sprained wrist. He’s got some old stuff that kind of caused the soreness. But he’ll be fine. It’s not … we won’t play him this week. He could play this week, but we are going to keep him out and be ready to go next week.”
The daily shuffling and watch of who is starting on the offensive line is down to one spot and one final, preseason game.
Carroll said Mark Glowinski will start at right guard at Oakland. The coach said Glowinski has had “a terrific camp.”
He also said veteran Oday Aboushi “had an excellent camp” at right guard, “and really the whole entrance to our program he’s done a fantastic job.” He is the former New York Jets and Houston Texans part-time starter Seattle signed to a one-year contract this spring to add experience.
Aboushi will start at left guard in Oakland because Luke Joeckel has been away getting the suddenly Seattle-chic regenokine treatment on his surgically repaired knee. The Seahawks expect Joeckel to start the opener at Green Bay.
Who will be at right guard that day?
Carroll wouldn’t say. But the fact Glowinski is starting there in Oakland when the Seahawks could have had him move back to left guard, where he started last season, for one week while Joeckel’s been gone suggests Glowinski will be the right guard to begin the season. If it was going to be Aboushi, he likely wouldn’t — and shouldn’t — have spent this week and the Raiders game detouring to left guard.
Aboushi started at right guard the first and third preseason games, including last week against the Chiefs. Glowinski started the second one there, against Minnesota.
“I’m really fired up about the flexibility,” Carroll said, mentioning again how rookie second-round pick Ethan Pocic can play center plus guard and tackle on both sides.
“That’s a big deal. He can play on both sides for us. For us to be able to do that is a big deal. But also, Matt Tobin (who arrived last week in a trade from Philadelphia) has come in here and shown us that he can do that, as well. Not center, (but) he can play guard and tackle.
“It’s just a real positive force as we figure this thing out and put the roster together.”
Germain Ifedi is the right tackle. Glowinski appears to be the right guard. Justin Britt, who just signed a $27 million contract extension, is back at center after a Pro Bowl-alternate first season starting there. The left guard will be Joeckel, playing the position the Seahawks think he was better at than left tackle from 2013 through last season at Jacksonville. And Rees Odhiambo’s steady debut as the starting left tackle last week earned him that job.
Odhiambo, the 2016 third-round pick and former Boise State left tackle, is replacing injured George Fant. Fant had reconstructive knee surgery in Florida on Monday.
“The reports were good,” Carroll said. “It was a serious injury but the doctor felt really good about coming out of it that things went well. It’s going to be a normal, long recovery (well into 2018).
“George’s attitude is really right. George has made the statement that he is going to do this exactly like he approached this offseason and try to figure out how he can get at his best. He knows he had a highly successful offseason, and he’s going to go about it with the same mentality and attitude.
“Knowing that he’s going to do that, he’ll get back.”
This final exhibition game is not the same as recent ones. The coaches’ approach to playing time for reserves and players fighting for the final spots in making the team will be different, because NFL roster rules are different this year. Rosters have remained at 90 players throughout the entire preseason, instead of down to 75 by this time in August in previous years. The Seahawks and every other team have 15 more guys to evaluate in final pushes for the regular season before Saturday’s roster cut down to 53 men.
That strongly suggest Seattle’s starters will play Thursday no more — or perhaps even less — than the one drive or so they’ve typically played under Carroll in preseason finales.
“I think I said the other day, the new rules change things and gives you the opportunity to look at it a little bit differently,” Carroll said. “I don’t know how others are going to look at it. Again, this is our first chance to do this. But we’ve got a thought in mind.
“You get to see how it works out.”
Rawls didn’t practice the last two weeks and has missed the last two preseason games with an ankle injury. Asked if the Seahawks expect the lead running back to play Thursday, Carroll said: “He can, yeah. Thomas can go.”
Then the coach grinned his usual, coy, last-media-session-before-a-game grin.
Prosise hasn’t played the last two games, either. The team’s third-down back who’s been injured often over his first 16 months with the Seahawks has recently had a groin strain. He returned to practice Monday.
When asked about Prosise for the Oakland game, Carroll said with an exaggerated head nod and another smile: “He can go, also.”
Carroll wouldn’t answer who his lead back will be for the opener.
He didn’t have to.
Rawls has been ahead of offseason acquisition Eddie Lacy all month for the lead running back job. Lacy’s three, unspectacular preseason games as the bigger, 250-pound plow back hasn’t changed that.
“I think when Thomas gets back on the field officially and he’s playing, it’s a great situation for us,” Carroll said. “We are really excited to have the different dimensions and different styles that the guys bring. Everybody’s got a good attitude. Everybody’s got a way about them that makes them different. I’ve always coveted that.
“So, they couldn’t be much more different in stature than they are. But I think they’re really terrific players for us.”
A post on Twitter Wednesday from ESPN NFL reporter Dianna Russini stated the Seahawks are trying to trade Kearse.
With Saturday’s roster cut-down deadline approaching, leaks from agents, team or NFL officials or friends of a friend of players that state “trying to trade” often foreshadows the release of a rumored player. The team shops the player in question for a couple days, sees if it gets any offers for, say, a late-round pick, then if not releases him on cut-down day.
The Seahawks have a logjam of proven plus talented wide receivers. Doug Baldwin and Lockett are set as starters. Paul Richardson emerged late last season after Lockett got hurt. Kasen Williams had an outstanding preseason, making five ridiculous catches in the first five quarters of exhibition-game play plus tackles and increasingly prominent roles on special teams.
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