Seahawks notebook: Injuries mounting at DT

By Danny O’Neil

RENTON – The Seahawks are running out of bodies at defensive tackle, and fullback Michael Robinson is running out of time to get back before the regular season begins.

Neither Tony McDaniel nor Brandon Mebane will play in the preseason finale on Thursday against Oakland, each suffering from a sore groin muscle.

Robinson was back at the team headquarters on Wednesday after suffering from what coach Pete Carroll characterized as a virus.

“He’s feeling better,” Carroll said of Robinson. “He’s dealing with some intricacies about the illness he has. It will take us a little time here before we get him back out here. Hopefully, he may be ready in a couple weeks.”

Carroll later clarified Robinson’s status was more day-to-day and there was no prognosis on whether or not he would be ready for the start of the regular season.

“He had a virus that hit him pretty hard,” Carroll said.

Mebane suffered a strained groin in practice earlier this week, and he’ll sit out the finale as Clinton McDonald will start. The situation with McDaniel is a little more concerning, and not just because he sat out the first two preseason games with a strained groin.

But it’s not just McDaniel, but the position he plays. Rookie Jesse Williams was placed on injured reserve earlier this week, and third-round pick Jordan Hill is recovering from a strained biceps. That’s actually a positive prognosis.

“He’s responding really well,” Carroll said of Hill. “We’re hoping that it’s a week-to-week situation. We’ll find out where he is next week and we’ll take it from there.”

One player who will be on the field, though: tight end Zach Miller. He’s going to play for the first time this month after sitting out the first three games with a sore foot.

“It surprised us that he jumped back so well,” Carroll said of Miller. “We’ll get him a little bit of play time. “