RENTON — The Seattle Seahawks’ depleted receiving corps got a dose of good news earlier this week when veteran Deion Branch returned to the practice field.
The football gods giveth, and the football gods taketh away.
On Friday, head coach Mike Holmgren said that Branch is still a ways away from being ready to participate in a game. And so the veteran receiver is unlikely to be on the field when Seattle plays the Buffalo Bills in Sunday’s regular-season opener.
“The process,” Holmgren said, “is to get him good (mentally) about where he’s at.”
Starting receivers Branch and Bobby Engram, who is nursing an injured shoulder, were expected to be the starting receivers this season, but neither will play Sunday. Third-year player Ben Obomanu is also sidelined, having been placed on injured reserve because of a broken clavicle.
That leaves Nate Burleson and a trio of untested young receivers to play against the Bills.
“I’m expecting a lot of the young guys,” Holmgren said. “It’s very, very important that they play well. It’s as unusual a situation, at that position, as I’ve ever had. So we’ll see.”
Courtney Taylor is expected to start along with Burleson, while former practice squad players Logan Payne and Jordan Kent should also see plenty of action Sunday. In a pinch, the Seahawks could use backup quarterback Seneca Wallace as a receiver.
Also expected to miss the game is right tackle Sean Locklear, who is nursing a sore knee.
Holmgren said that middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu will play despite seeing limited time in practice earlier this week. Tatupu practiced at full speed Friday.
Mystery return man: Two days before the start of the season, Holmgren said the team finally has an idea about who will return punts.
He just isn’t letting on.
“You’ll see when we line up,” he said in a language that local football fans have come to know as Willinghamese.
Rookie running back Justin Forsett appears to be the most likely candidate, but he muffed a punt in the final game of the preseason. Cornerback Josh Wilson, who will return kickoffs, is another option if the Seahawks want him to do double duty.
Among the players who have practiced returning punts this week have been Wallace, Burleson and Pro Bowl cornerback Marcus Trufant.
Late night Hawks: Holmgren is trying to address his team’s road woes through unconventional methods.
Rather than give the team an earlier curfew Friday night, he added a couple hours to the typical 11 p.m. bed check.
“We’ve created like a game room of sorts — maybe a movie, some food, some things like that,” Holmgren said. “Extend the curfew on Friday night, so it’s a little more realistic to Seattle time.
“Let them get a good night’s sleep, hopefully, and kind of get them acclimated that way.”
The Seahawks left for Buffalo on Friday afternoon. Sunday’s game starts at 10 a.m., West Coast time.
Quick slants: Holmgren said that quarterback Matt Hasselbeck looks ready to go for the opener. Hasselbeck missed most of the preseason because of back tightness. “I thought earlier in the week he was a little rusty, but that’s from not playing as much as he would like,” Holmgren said Friday. “But then as the week went along, he got better and better and he had a real good practice today. Physically, he’s fine.” … Offensive lineman Mike Wahle missed the first 45 minutes of practice because his wife was delivering a baby.
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