KIRKLAND – When Anthony Simmons underwent surgery on a sore shoulder on Oct. 21, he promised himself that he would just miss two weeks.
He was actually a day ahead of schedule.
Simmons returned to the practice field Wednesday and is expected to play linebacker this Sunday when the Seattle Seahawks play the San Francisco 49ers. He seems to have recovered nicely from a surgery that was expected to keep him out anywhere from two to four weeks.
“It wasn’t something that was a complicated procedure, and it wasn’t real serious,” Simmons said of why he knew he’d return so soon. “I know my body. With something that’s not a real serious injury, it’s pretty easy for me to bounce back from something like that.”
Simmons joined Chad Brown on the practice field Wednesday for the first time since training camp. Brown returned from a broken leg about the time Simmons was having surgery on his shoulder.
“It’s fun having them back,” middle linebacker Orlando Huff said. “It’s going to be exciting. … Experience always overrides everything.”
Simmons was one of two starters who returned to practice Wednesday and, surprisingly, neither were listed on the team’s injury report. Simmons and right tackle Chris Terry are both expected to play in San Francisco. Terry is also recovering from a shoulder injury that kept him off the field the past two games.
Starting left guard Steve Hutchinson did not practice while nursing an ankle injury, but Holmgren said he expects the Pro Bowler to play Sunday.
Not all news was good news, however, as eight other players did not practice Wednesday. Among those were four of Seattle’s top five receivers: Darrell Jackson (ankle), Jerry Rice (ankle), Bobby Engram (ankle) and Alex Bannister (broken clavicle). Only Bannister is definitely out Sunday, and he could be placed on injured reserve later this week.
With Jackson, Rice and Engram all 50-50 to play against the 49ers, the Seahawks gave practice squad receivers Jason Willis, Taco Wallace and Jerheme Urban equal time with the No. 1 offense. Someone from that trio may be added to the active roster later this week.
Also sidelined were defensive end Chike Okeafor (neck spasms), cornerback Bbobby Taylor (excused absence), running back Maurice Morris (concussion) and defensive end Grant Wistrom (knee). Okeafor and Taylor are expected to play, while Morris is listed as questionable.
Wistrom is out at least two more weeks, possibly four.
Even Seattle’s healthy guys aren’t completely healthy. Cornerback Marcus Trufant is wearing a cast on his left wrist to protect an injury he suffered in Sunday’s win over Carolina.
Erickson backs Gilby: San Francisco coach Dennis Erickson may not be having the greatest of seasons, but at least he’s still got some job security.
The same can’t be said for Erickson’s best friend, University of Washington coach Keith Gilbertson.
“He got himself in a tough situation where that program was at,” Erickson said. “He did the best job he could possibly do. It’s just too bad that it had to come to that.
“But Keith Gilbertson’s a great football coach. If I ever have the opportunity to, I’d hire him in a second.”
Gilbertson was Erickson’s offensive coordinator when they coached the Seahawks from 1995 through 1998. They became childhood friends in Snohomish County. Erickson grew up in Everett and Gilbertson in Snohomish.
As for the soon-to-be-vacant UW job, Erickson said Wednesday that he has not given it much thought.
“I’ve got a job here,” Erickson said during his Wednesday conference call with the Seattle media. “We’ve got a lot of things to get done here with the 49ers, and that’s my No. 1 job here.”
The fighting Irishman? A local Seattle rock station, KRQI-FM, has been holding a fictional bracket tournament that pits Seahawks players in no-holds-barred fights. The object of the bracket was to find out which Seahawk would do the most damage on teammates if they ever got into a fight.
The winner was Okeafor, who uses martial arts to prepare himself for games. But Okeafor’s Nigerian name seemed to be a problem for the rock station, which presented him with a trophy that spelled his surname O’Keafor.
Quick slants: Erickson said he expects starting quarterback Tim Rattay to return to the field this week after missing Sunday’s game with a forearm injury. Rattay also missed the Seahawks’ 34-0 win over San Francisco six weeks ago, when he was recovering from a separated shoulder. … With a spot on their practice squad available following last week’s signing of punter Donnie Jones, the Seahawks re-signed fullback R.J. Luke.
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