Getty Chris Carson will return to practice.
The Seattle Seahawks are back from the bye week and are preparing to face off with the Green Bay Packers. Running back Chris Carson (neck) will not suit up for this matchup, but he is much closer to his return following an update from Pete Carroll.
The head coach met with members of the media on Monday, November 8, to discuss the overall health of his team coming out of the bye week. He confirmed that Dee Eskridge, Russell Wilson, and Nigel Warrior would return to practice before saying that Carson would return at a later date.
“What I was told today is that Wednesday he’ll be on the field,” Carroll said during the November 8 press conference. “We’ll see how that goes.” The head coach added that Carson would have to go through more tests on November 8 to determine if he could return to practice.
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Carson Has Missed Multiple Games Due to a Neck Injury
GettyChris Carson passed Ricky Watters in the Seahawks record book.
The former seventh-round pick from the 2017 NFL Draft has not suited up for the Seahawks since the October 3 game against the 49ers. He then missed the October 7 battle against the Rams after his neck injury “flared up.”
Questions continued to circulate about Carson’s availability until the Seahawks made a roster move. They placed him on Injured Reserve and ensured that he would miss three games before becoming eligible to make his return.
Carroll faced multiple questions about Carson’s potential return during a media availability on October 29. He addressed them by saying that he had no updates about Carson’s status and that the team couldn’t predict when the running back would return to the lineup. Carroll also said that Carson would need to show some significant signs of progress.
“He’s got to make a turn here to show us that he’s feeling better and good enough to really go for it,” Carroll said during a presser streamed on Twitter. “He hasn’t been able to come out to practice yet and go… You’re going to say, ‘Well is he going to make it back?’ I’m not ready to do that yet, but really keeping my fingers crossed for him that he gets a chance to get back and play. He’s working out hard, but he’s not ready to practice football yet.”
Carson Signed a Sizable Extension Prior to the 2021 Season
The Seahawks entered the season with plans to make Carson a key part of the offense once again. The team signed him to a two-year contract extension worth $10,425,000, which included a $4,500,000 signing bonus and $5,500,000 guaranteed.
Originally set to become a free agent after 2021, Carson is now locked up through the end of the 2022 season. Though the Seahawks have a potential out in 2022 in which only $3 million would count against the salary cap, per Spotrac.
The remainder of the season schedule could play a significant role in Carson’s future with the team. Though the bigger priority for Carroll and the team will be getting him back at full health so he can help Alex Collins form a powerful rushing tandem and help the Seahawks rebound from a 3-5 start to the season.
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