Getty Seattle Seahawks guard Damien Lewis is carted off the field.
Heading into their preseason finale against the Dallas Cowboys, the Seattle Seahawks had concerns about a number of players and their availability, potentially for the regular season. Fortunately for the team and fans, the Seahawks got a ton of positive injury news early in the week.
After an unexpected turn in the Seahawks QB competition, Drew Lock returned to practice on Sunday, August 21st after testing positive for COVID-19 shortly before the team’s second preseason game against the Chicago Bears. Head coach Pete Carroll told reporters that he anticipates Lock playing “a lot” in the preseason finale.
One of the biggest scares of the preseason came against the Bears, when starting offensive guard Damien Lewis was carted off the field in an air cast. Although the initial fear was a season-ending injury, Carroll told reporters he doesn’t expect Lewis to miss a significant amount of time.
The Seahawks also got a familiar face back. Second-year wide receiver Dee Eskridge returned to practice after a hamstring injury kept him sidelined for all of training camp, with the former second-round pick hoping to have a bigger impact in 2022.
Injuries are a part of the game, but the Seahawks are at least getting some key players back before Week 1.
Other Seahawks Still Dealing with Injuries
Although the Seahawks got plenty of players back from injuries or illness, a handful of players are still working to get healthy before the start of the regular season.
The biggest injury of training camp so far has been to rookie running back Kenneth Walker III, who has been out indefinitely with a hernia. Despite having surgery for the issue, Walker and the Seahawks are hopeful that he can be ready for Week 1, although the team still hasn’t released a timeline of when they can expect him to return.
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Walker is hoping to have a big impact in Seattle’s offense alongside Rashaad Penny. The backfield workload opened up after Chris Carson retired due to his neck injury, but it’s uncertain how quickly Walker will be phased back into the offense once healthy.
Fellow 2022 second-round pick Boye Mafe is also dealing with an injury that will likely keep him sidelined for the preseason finale. ESPN’s Brady Henderson tweeted that Mafe is dealing with a strained shoulder that will likely keep him out for the remainder of the week.
Both rookies are expected to have a big impact for the team in 2022, but that will require both of them to stay healthy. Neither injury appears to be a long-term issue, but both rookies will need to stay on the field if they hope to help the Seahawks surprise critics this season.
Who Will Start at QB for the Seahawks?
There has been plenty of offseason speculation about the Seahawks trading for a quarterback after the team sent Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos. However, with Week 1 just a couple of weeks away, it appears that Drew Lock or Geno Smith will be the starter for 2022.
Smith was the early favorite to be the Week 1 starter, especially after being named the starter for the team’s preseason opener against Pittsburgh. Lock had the opportunity to start the following preseason game, but his COVID-related absence had him take a big step back.
Lock had a real shot at competing for the starting job, but with his illness it’s now Smith’s job to lose. Unless Lock can light up the Cowboys defense in the finale and shock the Seahawks coaching staff, expect the 31-year-old veteran in Smith to run the offense, at least to start the 2022 season.