Getty Seahawks corner Quinton Dunbar is dealing with a chronic knee injury.
It has been a challenging season for Seattle Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar, and he is now on the injured reserve list. The Seahawks placed Dunbar on the injured list prior to their matchup with the Cardinals as he continues to deal with a hurt knee.
This means Dunbar will be sidelined for at least three weeks. Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll indicated that the team is hopeful Dunbar can return after these three weeks are up.
“We hope another week will be enough to get him back,” Carroll noted, per Seahawks.com. “He’ll be week-to-week. He has to sit out this week coming up, then he could be one of the guys to come back off the three-week IR.”
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Tre Flowers & D.J. Reed Have Seen Extended Work in Quinton Dunbar’s Absence
Tre Flowers has received a boost in playing time since Dunbar has been in and out of the lineup this season. Flowers received 100 percent of the snaps against the Cardinals, per Seattle PI’s Ben Arthur. D.J. Reed also played 100 percent of the snaps, and we have seen his versatility at both safety and corner this season. Ugo Amadi played 70 percent of the snaps filling in the corner rotation against the Cardinals.
Earlier this season, Carroll described Dunbar’s knee as a chronic injury. The Seahawks traded for Dunbar this offseason hoping he could be a lockdown corner to pair with Shaquill Griffin. Carroll admitted that Dunbar has not fully meshed with the defense and was critical of his performance against the Bills earlier this 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 explained, per The News Tribune. “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.”
The Seahawks coach noted that the team is still trying to mesh Dunbar’s style with how Seattle’s secondary typically operates. It will be interesting to see if Dunbar is able to win back the starting job given how well Flowers has played in recent weeks.
“We backed off more than we should have, a few times, and we were deeper than we should have been,” Carroll noted after the Seahawks loss to the Bills, per The News Tribune. “Those are really just technique principles.”
Carroll on the Seahawks Defense: ‘It Feels Like We’re Just Getting Started’
The Seahawks are hoping the defense is starting to take a turn in the right direction after struggling during the first half of the season. The unit performed well in the second half against the Rams and put up another good performance versus an explosive Cardinals offense. After the team’s win over the Cardinals, Carroll emphasized his belief that the defense is about to be at its best as they continue to get healthy.
“It’s really important for us,” Carroll said, via Seahawks.com. “We’ll see. We got to keep coming back and keep going. We’re just, really, it feels like we’re just getting started. …There’s no reason that we can’t come together and play really good football. There’s no reason, and from this point forward. We just have to get comfortable with everybody that’s out there. And Shaq will return to us when we come back. Some pretty good things are happening. So I’m really excited. It was a good night for us.”
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