KIRKLAND – As if the Seattle Seahawks didn’t have enough problems lately, they got some news Friday that could keep as many as three starters off the field for the game against Minnesota.
The most definite news involved right tackle Chris Terry, whose sore right shoulder finally got the best of him. Terry was scheduled to undergo surgery and will miss the rest of the season. He was placed on injured reserve and replaced by practice squad receiver Jason Willis on the active roster.
Seattle’s two starting receivers, Darrell Jackson and Jerry Rice, could also miss the game. Jackson found out that his father has cancer, so he went to Florida to be with him. While Jackson is expected to join the team today and play Sunday, his father’s health situation leaves the Seahawks receiver’s availability in question.
“The family phoned his agent for me and thought that Darrell should be there,” coach Mike Holmgren said. “They weren’t sure if his dad would make it. … Right now the plan is he meets us in Minnesota (today).”
Rice strained his quadriceps Wednesday and tested the injury briefly at Friday’s practice. His participation was limited, and there is still a chance Rice could miss Sunday’s game.
“He’s got the rest of (Friday and today) to rest it and we’ll see what happens, see what we can get him to do in the game on Sunday,” Holmgren said.
Jerheme Urban, Taco Wallace and Bobby Engram were the Seahawks’ three primary receivers all week while Rice recovered from the injury and Jackson sat out with a cold. Urban backs up Jackson, while Wallace is listed as the backup to Rice.
Holmgren likes to keep Engram in the No. 3 receiver role so he can stay in the slot position.
Terry’s starting spot will go to Floyd Womack, who already started one game at right tackle this year while Terry was suspended. Womack has started at three positions along the offensive line during his four NFL seasons.
In other injury news, linebacker Tracy White was downgraded from questionable to doubtful. He has missed three games with a pulled hamstring and was expected to contribute on special teams.
White and Chad Brown (knee surgery) are more likely to play in next Sunday’s game against the New York Jets.
Craig who? With an NFL resume that includes 13 weekends of inactivity, rookie defensive tackle Craig Terrill is not exactly a household name.
But the sixth-round pick from Purdue is expected to make his professional debut Sunday when the Seahawks play the Vikings.
“Being on a team with so many other great defensive linemen, I knew I wouldn’t be on the field right away,” Terrill said. “So I’m just grateful for my opportunity.”
Injuries have decimated the interior of Seattle’s defensive line this week. Defensive tackles Marcus Tubbs (high ankle sprain) and Rocky Bernard (sprained MCL) won’t make the trip today when the Seahawks travel to Minnesota. Starter Cedric Woodard (knee) missed two days of practice during the week but is expected to start alongside Rashad Moore.
Terrill is the Seahawks’ only other healthy defensive tackle.
“That’s the nature of the game,” said Terrill, who may even start if Woodard can’t play. “That’s what the coaches were telling me, that my day would come. And to be ready when it did.”
To keep a rotation going, the Seahawks will use end Brandon Mitchell on the inside a lot. Another defensive end, Antonio Cochran, has seen extensive action inside in passing situations all season.
Elementary, my dear: Seahawks tight end Itula Mili made Monday Night Football history.
While his teammates gave their colleges, and a few high schools, during televised introductions, Mili had a unique lead-in.
“Itula Mili, Laie Elementary,” he said.
MNF broadcaster Al Michaels proclaimed Mili, a native of Hawaii, as the first NFL player to name his grade school on a telecast.
“That’s kind of where the dream starts from,” Mili said Wednesday of his reason for listing Laie over his alma mater, Brigham Young University.
Mili said he has gotten dozens of calls from friends back in Hawaii since the MNF introductions, which came as a relief.
“After I said it, I started having some second thoughts,” he said. “I was like, man, are people going to think I never got past elementary school?
“I got back to the locker room and thought about re-doing it with my college so at least they’d know how far I got in my education.”
In the end, Mili stuck with Laie.
“In 2002, when we played San Francisco (on Monday Night Football), I did my university,” he said. “I gave my university some props. Maybe next time I’ll do my high school.”
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