By Bob Condotta / The Seattle Times
RENTON — The Seattle Seahawks have ruled out three players for Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers, including first-round pick Rashaad Penny, who has played in all 13 games so far this season, but will sit out with a knee injury on which he will get treatment over the weekend.
However, receiver Doug Baldwin — while listed as questionable with a hip injury that held him out Monday against the Vikings — said he will play.
“Yeah, I’ll play,” said Baldwin, who has missed three games this season, two earlier in the year with a sprained MCL. “Yeah, I’ll play.”
Baldwin hadn’t missed a game since 2012 before this season, but has dealt with at least five different listed injuries which have limited him to 37 receptions so far — he’s had 66 or more each of the past four years.
“It’s been pretty difficult,” Baldwin said. “Really difficult.”
He said this hip injury is a new one — he was also listed as questionable with a hip injury before a game at Carolina on Nov. 25 but played — and crept up on the Friday before a game against the 49ers in Seattle on Dec. 2.
“I mean I’ve had stuff before, but this is a combination of stuff so it was like ‘all right, we got to figure it out and get it handled,”’ Baldwin said of sitting out Monday. “That’s why I took the week off — I mean, I shouldn’t say the week off. I couldn’t go. So we were doing things to try to get me healthy again.”
Baldwin was listed as a limited participant in practice Friday, but head coach Pete Carroll said he did enough to look like he’s playing.
“Doug did really well,” Carroll said. “He practiced, made it through it today. He did fine. It looks like he’s playing.”
Penny is out with a knee injury Carroll said was discovered after Monday night’s win over the Vikings and will stay behind in Seattle this weekend to continue rehab and will be assessed again early next week. Carroll said an MRI did not reveal any significant injury and he didn’t specify what Penny’s injury might be. Penny had eight carries for 44 yards against the Vikings and had his last carry on the final play of the third quarter.
“He came out of the game last week with a sore knee and it didn’t respond quickly enough to get back for this week, so we’re going to leave him so he can get treated over the weekend,” Carroll said.
Carroll said that for now he’s not concerned that Penny could be out for any extended period.
“He’s just going to have some stuff done (this weekend),” Carroll said. “He was going to work over the weekend and see if the rehab is effective. He feels pretty good, but he just couldn’t get going this week. The rest over the weekend and the stuff that they’re doing will show us something, probably by Tuesday. By the time we get to practice on Wednesday we will have a better feel. … He had MRI’s on it and all that and there’s nothing that needs to be done right now as far as surgery or anything like that.”
Also out are linebacker K.J. Wright, who has not played since a Nov. 11 loss to the Rams while dealing with a lingering knee issue, and backup safety Maurice Alexander, who suffered a concussion against the Vikings.
But Wright was again a limited participant in practice Friday and Carroll said he appears making progress toward playing.
“He did well,” Carroll said of Wright. “He got reps today, this was the most he’s had. We’ll check in with him in the morning to see how he recovers and comes back from that. It’s really important how he recovers. We’re going to leave him home so that he can really work hard on it so next week he can have a chance to practice on Wednesday and we’ll just take it one day at a time and see how he goes. He’s optimistic about it and we are, but we really won’t know until the end of next week where he is.”
Seattle listed starting right guard D.J. Fluker as doubtful with a hamstring injury while also listing defensive tackle Jarran Reed (oblique) and safety Bradley McDougald (knee) as questionable.
But Carroll said both Reed and McDougald will play. Fluker would again be replaced by Jordan Simmons, who has filled in for him twice in the past five games including Monday against the Vikings, if he can’t play.
Of McDougald, Carroll said: “It’s just wear and tear — just banged up, but he’s doing fine.”
And of Reed: “He says he’s playing. There’s no question he’s playing.”
Not listed on the game status report was Frank Clark, who sat out practice Thursday with an elbow injury, but was back on Friday. Clark was on the injury report earlier this season with an elbow injury, as well, but Carroll said this injury is not related.
“He got through today, did a nice job,” Carroll said. “Practiced a full practice today … It’s the other elbow. He kind of did the same thing on the other elbow, if you can imagine that. He got caught, he got hyperextended a little bit.”
The loss of Penny will mean more time for J.D. McKissic, who was activated off the injured reserve list prior to a Dec. 2 game against the 49ers. McKissic has played just three snaps in two games since then without a carry, but will now move up in the team’s tailback rotation behind Chris Carson and Mike Davis.
“He’s likely to play more, yes,” Carroll said. “He has not (had many snaps) other than special teams, he’s done really well there. He’s really raring to go. He looks terrific at practice. He’s at full speed and he practices so well. I don’t have any hesitation about him playing in the game. He’s got some good things to do in the game plan, so we’re excited to see him.”
Seattle will also again have the services of fullback Tre Madden, who can fill in at tailback if needed. He sat out the last two games with a chest injury.
The 49ers listed only one player as out — safety Jaquiski Tartt with a shoulder injury. No players were doubtful. Among the players the 49ers listed as questionable are former Seahawk Cassius Marsh (concussion), running back Matt Breida (ankle) who is the team’s leading rusher with 744 yards, and receiver Dante Pettis (foot), a former UW star who had two touchdown catches against the Seahawks on Dec. 2. All three were listed as limited in practice Friday.
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