RENTON — The Seahawks won’t open training camp Friday at full strength as they had hoped.
Left guard Mike Wahle, who is recovering from shoulder surgery, hasn’t progressed as well as planned and won’t be available for the start of camp, Seahawks general manager Tim Ruskell said. Wahle’s timetable will be reassessed after Friday’s physical.
Additionally, defensive end Patrick Kerney, who also is recovering from shoulder surgery, and left tackle Walter Jones, who underwent microfracture surgery on his left knee, will be available but on a limited basis. The good news on the injury front is that Ruskell reiterated what has been said throughout the offseason — that Matt Hasselbeck’s back is not a concern.
“Matt’s been absolutely great,” Ruskell said of the quarterback who missed nine games last season. “He’s in the best shape of his life, he feels great, strong, and ready to go full.”
Mansfield Wrotto is listed as Wahle’s backup at left guard, but if Wahle is out for an extended period of time, don’t be surprised if rookie Max Unger challenges Wrotto for that job. Unger, who agreed to a contract with the team Wednesday, impressed during May and June minicamps and could find himself on the field this season. Unger, a center at Oregon, was drafted in part because of his versatility. He has gotten the most reps at left guard, a move made in part because of Wahle’s injury.
“That was kind of the thinking on Unger, that that would be an important guy to bring in, so we kind of thought about that as part of the plan,” Ruskell said.
Asked if Unger has the potential to be a starter in the near future, Ruskell responded, “Yeah, we believed that when we took him.”
And speaking of rookies, the Seahawks have one still unsigned: No. 4 overall pick Aaron Curry. Ruskell said talks are ongoing with the linebacker’s agents, Michael Sullivan and Andy Ross, and he hopes to have Curry in camp as soon as possible.
“We’ve been nonstop talking to those guys for the last few days,” Ruskell said. “”We’re optimistic.”
Just eight first-rounders have signed so far, making it a bit tougher to negotiate. And the contract worth a guaranteed $28 million given to the No. 5 pick, New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez, could make things even more difficult. “There aren’t a lot of precedents to go off of right now,” Ruskell said.
Ruskell said it’s important to get a deal done quickly.
“We don’t want him to miss a day,” Ruskell said of Curry. “Here’s a guy that we’re projecting to start and (reporting late) would hurt him.”
Notes: An oddity on Seattle’s 2008 roster was the presence of two place-kickers throughout the season. Olindo Mare held down the job all season, but rookie Brandon Coutu was with the team as well. That’s a situation that won’t be repeated in 2009, Ruskell said.
“We’ll go with one guy, and it’ll be a nice battle to watch …,” Ruskell said. “We’re not going to have two kickers this year, I’m going to go on record and say that.”
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