Back at practice, Seahawks’ Germain Ifedi getting closer to debut

RENTON – Seahawks rookie right guard Germain Ifedi practiced Wednesday for the second time since going down earlier this month with a high-ankle sprain that has kept him out of Seattle’s first three games. Ifedi was again listed as a limited participant, but it’s nonetheless a significant step as the Seahawks try to get their first-round pick back into the starting lineup.

“We’re really excited about that,” coach Pete Carroll said Wednesday while declaring that Ifedi would be practicing.

Carroll and offensive-line coach Tom Cable have said that when Ifedi is ready to play in a game, he’ll reclaim his starting job from J’Marcus Webb, whose been holding it down in his absence. When exactly that will be isn’t certain given that he’s in the early stages of his return to practice and still working his way back to full strength, but it doesn’t seem out of the question that it could be this week.

Ifedi was one of the standouts of training camp for reasons beyond the edge he showed while sparring multiple times with Michael Bennett. His return won’t provide an immediate fix to all the issues Seattle has had up front – he’s a rookie and he plays right guard, after all – but it would help.

“We were so pumped about everything that he had done to get this thing started,” Carroll said. “I know he’s really up about it and all, and we look forward to adding him in.”

Ifedi was injured in practice four days before Seattle’s opener. As Carroll did when it happened, Ifedi described it Wednesday as something of a freak occurrence.

“I couldn’t even really tell you how it happened,” he said. “It was just kind of one of those things, one of those weird kind of plays during practice that you get just hit in the wrong place or something like that and it just flared up. It was very weird.”

Ifedi’s injury forced Webb to go from a backup tackle to the starter at right guard just as the Seahawks were about to begin their season with a pair of games that would pit him against arguably the two most dominant interior defensive linemen in the NFL, Miami’s Ndamukong Suh and Los Angeles’ Aaron Donald. Predictably, Webb struggled.

Ifedi had dealt with the same type of sprain on the same ankle in high school and said that while it was tough having to sit out, he was thankful knowing the injury could have kept him out longer. Now that he’s back, Ifedi said that he isn’t starting over so much as he’s picking up where he left off – at least mentally – because of how engaged he stayed while he was sidelined.

“He’s done a really fantastic job of staying connected to it, though, in terms of game plan, the weeks he missed and learning it,” Cable said. “We kept him in the testing and board work, all of those things. Mentally he’s in pretty good shape.”

Ifedi wasn’t able to run throughout his rehab, so his conditioning will go a long way toward determining when he’ll be ready to play. Cable seemed encouraged about the shape Ifedi is in.

“Yeah, I think that’s part of the great job our trainers did in terms of really busting his tail in conditioning during that time that he was out,” Cable said. “I didn’t really notice anything. Even when he finished his rep count today, he said, ‘I feel great.’”

With the exception of second-round pick Jarran Reed, who has started all three games at defensive tackle, Seattle hasn’t gotten much yet out of its early-round picks from this year’s draft. Ifedi hasn’t played nor have have tight end Nick Vannett and offensive lineman Rees Odhiambo, both third-round picks. Seattle’s other third-rounder, running back C.J. Prosise, has missed the last two games.

If Ifedi does return to Seattle’s starting lineup this week, he’d be thrown into the proverbial fire against yet another supremely talented defensive line. The Jets’ Sheldon Richardson, Muhammad Wilkerson and Leonard Williams are all former first-round picks who combined for 20 sacks last season.

“It’s a real good test,” Ifedi said. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s a really good test, especially for my first game back.”