Seahawks Spotlight: Luke Joeckel, November 29
Nov 29, 2017, 12:37 PM | Updated: 1:53 pm
Left guard Luke Joeckel talked about his comeback from a second knee surgery in 13 months when he was featured in the Seahawks Spotlight, which airs weekdays at 5 p.m. on 710 ESPN Seattle.
You may not get a second chance to make a first impression, but offensive lineman Luke Joeckel is getting an opportunity for a fresh start in Seattle.
He returned to the field last week at San Francisco, playing for the first time after missing five games following a surgery to repair a knee that was initially injured back in October 2016 when he was with Jacksonville.
Joeckel joined Danny, Dave and Moore where he was featured in the Seahawks Spotlight, and he talked about just how big of a change the offensive line has undergone with the addition of left tackle Duane Brown.
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“I was just itching to get back and play next to him,” Joeckel said. “Playing in the same division as him my first four years in the league, watching a lot of film on him I was excited to play next to him and playing with him – side-by-side – it makes my play a little easier, too.”
The Seahawks didn’t allow a sack on Sunday for the first time in almost two years and only the third time in the past 43 regular-season games. Not bad considering that Joeckel and Brown hadn’t had so much as a single practice together. In the two weeks since Joeckel returned, Brown has been unable to work during the week because of a sprained ankle.
So how’d the pair do in their first action together?
“They did fine,” coach Pete Carroll said. “You can see – and I know Tom (Cable) would tell you – there are real some specifics in their communication that we could have been better at, could identify things a little bit more clearly. I think it was pretty much understood for the little time they spent together.”
Joeckel is just grateful to be back. He wasn’t healthy when the Seahawks signed him, still recovering from surgery to repair a knee injury he suffered last October. He underwent a treatment back at the end of training camp, and returned to play the first five regular-season games before ultimately deciding he would need another surgery to help his recovery.
“It just got to the point where it was stacking up,” Joeckel said, “getting worse and worse each week.”
Now, he’s back and not so much looking to pick up where he left off so much as he’s ready to finally be at full speed.
“Taking that step back, I’m now taking two steps forward,” Joeckel said, “and I’m feeling better than I did before the second surgery, and like I said, it’s great to be back out there.”
