Jimmy Graham closer to being ready for Seahawks’ regular season
Sep 1, 2016, 11:46 PM | Updated: Sep 2, 2016, 4:22 pm
Seahawks tight end Jimmy Graham dressed up for pregame workouts for the second week in a row. (AP)
(AP)
OAKLAND, Calif. – What happened in Thursday’s preseason finale isn’t as important as what happened before it.
That should give you an idea about how Jimmy Graham looked in uniform during the pregame warmups, and after running back Thomas Rawls completed his comeback by making his preseason debut against the Raiders Thursday night, it appears the Seahawks’ tight end is not far behind.
“Jimmy’s close now,” coach Pete Carroll said. “His confidence is way up. He’s demonstrated he can go out and battle with us on the practice field, which is the same thing that Thomas did.”
Graham watched Thursday’s preseason game in street clothes.
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“He’s 10 days behind Thomas’ progress in that regard, so we’ll see what that means,” Carroll said.
Well, let’s see now: Rawls entered Thursday’s game in the second series and carried the ball twice to mark his complete return from the ankle injury that ended his rookie season, and 10 days after that is exactly when the Seahawks will begin their regular season at home against Miami.
Will Graham be there?
“He’s doing everything he can to get back,” Carroll said, “and I’m fired up for him. He looked great again in pregame.”
It is worth noting Graham also looked great during pregame warmups before Seattle’s third preseason game against Dallas.
“In that pregame, he was rolling,” offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said earlier this week. “He looked great in that pregame. He was catching the ball and he was really explosive as he was catching.”
That was also without any defenders. It became more difficult when Graham was working in team drills during practice last week.
“It’s really the next part of the progression for him,” Bevell said, “and seeing him with bodies running around against him and the leverage and pushing off and loading his leg a little bit more.”
That makes Thursday night the latest step for Graham, and if Carroll’s reaction is any indication, the tight end is gaining speed in his comeback.
