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The Seattle Seahawks may need to come up with alternative plans on their defensive line as Darrell Taylor is watching training camp practices from the sideline with his arm in a sling. Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll revealed that Taylor sprained his shoulder but added the injury will not require surgery. Carroll indicated that the team is uncertain about the timeline for Taylor’s recovery.
“Yeah, he sprained his shoulder, and we gotta wait to figure out how long it’s going to take,” Carroll told reporters on August 3, 2023. “It’s not requiring surgery, but we just got to see how he responds. He felt way better today than he did yesterday, and so that’s good early progress.”
If Taylor is forced to miss time, it would open up an expanded opportunity on the defensive line for Boye Mafe. The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar reported that the Seahawks were counting on Taylor to emerge as a “double-digit sack producer and a full-time starter.”
“Now for the bad news: Outside linebacker Darrell Taylor landed awkwardly in an earlier practice and has a sprained left shoulder,” Dugar wrote on August 3. “He watched practice Thursday with his arm in a sling.
“… Seattle expects Taylor, a 2020 second-round pick who has 16 sacks in his first two seasons, to be a double-digit sack producer and a full-time starter on the edge opposite Uchenna Nwosu this year.”
Seattle Seahawks Pass Rusher Darrell Taylor Is Coming Off a Career-High 9.5 Sacks
DeShawn Shead in white getting defense hyped during bag drills. You can see Darrell Taylor with arm in a sling.
If Taylor can get back to full health, there is a reason why Seattle is optimistic about his potential production. Taylor is coming off a career-high 9.5 sacks, 13 quarterback hits, 8 tackles for loss and 26 tackles during 16 appearances last season. The defender only started three games in 2022 and is in line for an expanded role this upcoming season.
The Seahawks bolstered their defensive line this offseason by signing Dre’Mont Jones, Jarran Reed and Mario Edwards. This could open up more opportunities for Taylor given all the returning Seahawks defensive linemen will be surrounded by added talent.
Seattle Seahawks DC Clint Hurtt: ‘We Couldn’t Stop the Run to Save Our Life’
Pete Carroll on practice and Darrell Taylor.
Taylor faces an uncertain future in Seattle as the pass rusher heads into the final season of his four-year, $6.7 million rookie deal. The defender will be a free agent in 2023 with his NFL role still to be determined.
Taylor has yet to earn above a 58 grade from Pro Football Focus during his brief NFL career. The defender missed his entire rookie season while dealing with a serious leg injury.
Seahawks defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt emphasized that it was Seattle’s inability to stop the run that was the biggest issue for the unit in 2022. Hurtt added that an improved rushing defense is only going to help the Seahawks get to the quarterback.
“We finished tied for seventh in sacks last year, and we couldn’t stop the run to save our life,” Hurtt said during an August 1 press conference. “So, imagine if you get more opportunities to rush by defending the run game better. And that’s the part that nobody ever talks about. Ain’t like we got three sacks in a season, but we finished tied for seventh. But you know, nobody thinks Seattle can play.”
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Projected Seahawks Starter’s New Injury Puts Status in Doubt