The past two days have been a little like Christmas for the Seattle Seahawks. If Tuesday was Christmas Eve, with the Seahawks pulling running back Thoms Rawls out of their stocking, then Wednesday was Christmas morning, with Seattle unwrapping tight end Jimmy Graham.
For the second straight day the Seahawks had a key offensive contributor return to the practice field from long-term injury. On Tuesday it was Rawls, the team’s projected No. 1 running back, who practiced for the first time since December because of an ankle injury. Then Wednesday it was Graham, the team’s top tight end, who appeared in shoulder pads and helmet. Like Rawls, Graham was removed from the physically-unable-to-perform list, practicing for the first time since suffering a devastating knee injury in November.
Seahawks TE Jimmy Graham from Everett Herald on Vimeo.
Graham suffered a torn patellar tendon in his right knee during Seattle’s 39-30 victory over Pittsburgh last Nov. 29. The three-time Pro Bowler, who was acquired in a blockbuster trade with New Orleans last offseason, was starting to come on after an up-and-down start with the Seahawks — he had 48 catches for 605 yards and two touchdowns in 11 games with Seattle.
Graham spoke Wednesday about going through “some dark days” during his recovery. He had to have his leg immobilized 11-12 weeks, and he talked about having to relearn how to walk. He said things have generally come easy to him in his career, so this experience has been humbling, and he described the rehab as twice as difficult as any practice.
However, he praised the organization for the support its provided throughout the process, singling out cornerback Richard Sherman for his daily words of support. He said he’s lost 15 pounds since the injury and is back to 260, and he said he had goosebumps walking through the door to the Virginia Mason Athletic Center and onto the practice field.
Much has been made of the difficulty of coming back from the type of injury Graham suffered. Many have used the example of New York Giants receiver Victor Cruz and his trouble getting back to his previous form after suffering the same injury in 2014. Graham said he’s talked to both Cruz and former Saints teammate Jon Stinchcomb, who also suffered the injury, about how to avoid injuring something else during the recovery process.
Graham said he’s taking things slow, but that he’s now able to run and cut like normal. He did not provide a timeline of when he may be ready for game action or whether he’d be back in time for Seattle’s season opener on Sept. 11 against Miami, saying, “I’m not allowed to answer that.”
In other news from Wednesday:
– Another player who was back participating in practice Wednesday was receiver Doug Baldwin. Baldwin has been out about a week after having the back of his ankle stepped on during practice. Baldwin took part in drills early in practice, but sat out 11-on-11 scrimmaging.
– Rookie defensive tackle Jarran Reed suffered an injury during practice. Reed was engaged in one-on-one pass-rush drills with guard Will Pericak when he went down with what appeared to be a left-ankle issue. After being tended to Reed eventually got to his feet under how own power, but he didn’t return to practice and ended up being carted off the field. There were no updates from the team on Reed’s status following practice, but Reed provided an update of his own on Twitter:
Everything is ok I'm perfectly fine ..see ya tomorrow out there 12s
— jarran reed (@1j_reed) August 10, 2016
– There was some movement with the first-team offensive line. Right tackle J’Marcus Webb left practice early with an apparent knee injury, so in his absence left tackle Garry Gilliam switched to the right side, where he played last season, and Bradley Sowell stepped in at left tackle. Meanwhile, recent addition Jahri Evans was back at his natural right-guard position, playing there with the second unit after spending time at left guard with the third unit Tuesday.
– Speaking of the offensive line, rookie right guard Germain Ifedi was back at it again, getting in a shouting/shoving match with what looked like the entire first-team defense during scrimmaging. Defensive tackle Brandin Bryant was also feisty again, this time getting involved with George Fant during one-on-one drills.
– Starting defensive ends Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril were given the day off, and middle linebacker Bobby Wagner did not participate in scrimmaging. Others who sat out Wednesday included the rookie running-back trio of C.J. Prosise (hamstring), Alex Collins (ankle) and Zac Brooks (hamstring), defensive tackle Jordan Hill (groin), and receivers Kevin Smith (hamstring), Kasen Williams (hamstring) and Deshon Foxx (hamstring).
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