Notebook: Updates on injuries, Mychal Kendricks, Ziggy Ansah at Seahawks’ minicamp
Jun 11, 2019, 7:05 PM
The Seahawks opened their mandatory minicamp Tuesday, and an opportunity to speak with head coach Pete Carroll for the first time since May 29 brought updates for several injured players.
What you need to know about Seahawks minicamp
Four 2019 draft picks are either non-participants or limiting workouts: Safety Marquise Blair, running back Travis Homer, linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven, and wide receiver Gary Jennings.
Blair, who suffered a hamstring injury just over a week ago, was sidelined Tuesday. So too was Burr-Kirven, whom Carroll revealed underwent surgery to repair a sports hernia six weeks ago. Homer (hamstring) was able to do some running after sitting out Seattle’s last open OTA practice, and Jennings (hamstring) also took part in drills after sitting out May’s rookie camp and most of OTAs.
Also seeing increased work was defensive tackle Jarran Reed. The fourth-year pro, who recorded a career-high 10 sacks last season for Seattle, practiced with the team for the first time since undergoing surgery to repair a sports hernia in late April.
“That’s the first chance he’s had to get back out there,” Carroll said of Reed’s return. “He’s been working a lot and conditioning on the side to make sure he’s coming along. Just the fact that he was out there, it was fun to see him out.”
Mike Iupati will miss all three days of minicamp with a sprained foot, but the decision to hold him back appears to be mostly precautionary.
“He’s OK,” Carroll told reporters.
Seahawks ‘have a plan’ for Ansah’s recovery
Defensive end Ziggy Ansah was one of Seattle’s biggest free agent acquisitions this offseason — and fills their greatest area of need — but the Seahawks aren’t in any hurry to get the veteran pass rusher on the practice field.
“We’re going to wait these six weeks coming up will be crucial and we have a really specific plan set up for him,” Carroll said of Ansah. Ansah has been working to build up strength in his surgically-repaired shoulder.
“He’ll be working with our guys throughout and then we’ll just see when camp comes. We’ll take the camp to get it done though, I’m sure. I don’t think we’ll rush him when there won’t be a need to start him up right out of the chutes. And we’ll see how it goes in the weeks to follow.”
While Carroll didn’t offer a hard deadline, it continues to sound like the timeline that was thrown around during the second phase of free agency — one that guessed Ansah would miss most, if not all, of training camp and the preseason. And there’s no real reason for Seattle to expedite a return.
“It’s just making sure that we don’t come back too soon,” Carroll said, “and (that we) ensure that his recovery is for good.”
Seahawks expecting to have Kendricks in 2019
The sentencing date for linebacker Mychal Kendricks in his insider trading case was postponed indefinitely in March, but Carroll told reporters Tuesday Kendricks feels “optimistic” about his case.
“There’s not much I can say that’s going to be proper at this time,” Carroll said. “Everything is moving along and he’s real optimistic about how things are going… we do expect him to be on the team this year.”
