Seahawks’ Browner listed as doubtful against 49ers
Sep 13, 2013, 2:01 PM | Updated: 2:06 pm
By Danny O’Neil
RENTON – Seahawks cornerback Brandon Browner is listed as doubtful for Sunday’s game against San Francisco, but he sounds more like a longshot to play.
Defensive end Chris Clemons is questionable, but coach Pete Carroll made it sound more likely he’d be back playing in the weeks ahead. And then there’s defensive end Cliff Avril, who’s listed as probable which means it’s a virtual certainty he will play.
That’s one interpretation of Seattle’s injury report this week as only player has been ruled out definitively: rookie defensive tackle Jordan Hill will miss a second straight game because of a biceps injury.
Safety Jeron Johnson is considered doubtful after his injured hamstring prevented him from practicing this week. Browner is also doubtful with a hamstring injury, but Carroll could not rule him out definitively.
“We’ll see what happens on game day,” Carroll said. “We’ll take it all the way up until then. [He] has not been able to get as much work as we had hoped.”
Clemons practiced throughout this week, and while Carroll sounded encouraged – perhaps even surprised – by the defensive end’s progress in coming back from knee surgery, Seattle’s coach stopped well short of saying Clemons had any real chance of playing on Sunday.
“Chris had a great week,” Carroll said. “We were just thrilled. Wednesday was the first day you could kind of see him kind of knocking off the rust. Thursday he was good, and Friday again he was good. So he’s going to have a real chance in the next couple of weeks to get back and play for us.”
Avril is expected to make his Seahawks debut, though, after sitting out last week’s game because of a hamstring injury.
“He could have played last week,” Carroll said of Avril. “Now, he comes back and puts another week behind him, and went [through] all the reps and did full-speed work. We know he’s ready to go.”
Other players listed as probable, which by the standards of the injury report means they’re virtually certain to be available for normal duty: TE Luke Willson (oblique), T Michael Bowie (shoulder), WR Sidney Rice (knee), DT Brandon Mebane (ankle), DT Tony McDaniel (groin).
