Getty Seahawks corner Quinton Dunbar is dealing with a chronic knee injury.
Seattle Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar struggled against the Buffalo Bills and head coach Pete Carroll admitted he is playing through a knee injury. Carroll described Dunbar’s knee as a “chronic thing for him,” but an injury that the corner is attempting to play through.
“Pete Carroll on CB Quinton Dunbar: ‘It was a hard game yesterday for Quinton…It was hard on him. I was a hard game on him, physically.’ Knee has been ‘a chronic thing for him,'” The News Tribune’s Gregg Bell noted on Twitter.
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The Seahawks Are Trying to ‘Adapt’ to Dunbar’s Style
It is not the most promising sign to hear that Dunbar has a chronic knee condition given the team just traded for him this offseason. Carroll noted that Dunbar struggled against the Bills and the team is trying to mesh the corner’s technique with how the Seahawks traditionally operate in the secondary.
“We backed off more than we should have, a few times, and we were deeper than we should have been,” Carroll explained, per The News Tribune. “Those are really just technique principles.”
Dunbar has not typically played press coverage, and Carroll noted they are trying to “adapt” to his style of play. Carroll is never one to be overly critical of players publicly but reading between the lines Dunbar is underperforming compared to the player the team believed they were acquiring prior to the season.
“[Dunbar is] really a guy who plays on feel and a different style than just a straight, on-the-line-of-scrimmage press guy,” Carroll added. “That’s not been the way he plays. So as we learn him and adapt [to] him we are trying to figure out how to best position him. Sometimes, he is coming up with some stuff that it’s farther off than we would see fit.”
Dunbar Faces an Uncertain Future With the Seahawks
It has been a rocky year for Dunbar since he was traded to the Seahawks. Dunbar spent much of the offseason dealing with an ongoing legal investigation putting his NFL future in jeopardy before eventually being cleared. The corner’s play on the field has been inconsistent, but the Seahawks secondary has played so few games together at full strength with Dunbar along with Shaquill Griffin and Jamal Adams dealing with injuries throughout the season.
Dunbar is on the final season of a three-year, $5.7 million contract putting his future with the Seahawks in doubt. Seattle traded for Dunbar with the idea that he could potentially be the long-term fit on the opposite side of the field as Griffin.
After the Seahawks’ loss to the Bills, Carroll praised Tre Flowers’ performance, and it would not be a surprise if he ends up as the team’s second corner if Dunbar’s struggles continue.
“Tre Flowers played his best game he’s played in a long time,” Carroll noted, per NBC Sports Northwest’s Joe Fann. “Maybe his best ever.”
ESPN’s Brady Henderson reported that Dunbar and Griffin’s status for Week 11 are in doubt.
“The Seahawks released cornerback DeMarkus Acy off their practice squad, according to the NFL’s transaction wire,” Henderson tweeted. “Could see more movement at that position this week with Shaquill Griffin and Quinton Dunbar iffy for Sunday’s game against the Rams.”
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