Cable encouraged by Carpenter’s recovery
May 10, 2013, 3:05 PM | Updated: 3:14 pm

By Brady Henderson
Tom Cable will have five new offensive linemen at his disposal after the Seahawks added three in the draft and a pair of rookie free agents.
![]() Carpenter |
Make it six if you count James Carpenter, who’s recovering from a knee injury that cut his 2012 season short.
“He’s doing really well,” Cable, Seattle’s offensive line coach, told “Bob and Groz” on Friday before the start of the team’s three-day rookie minicamp.
Carpenter, a first-round pick in 2011, was a starter at right tackle as a rookie before he suffered a season-ending ACL tear after the team’s ninth game. He returned to the field in Week 4 of last season and started seven games at guard before reinjuring the knee in Week 13.
Carpenter remained in Seattle to continue his rehab and prepare for the upcoming season. Cable said he recently had a “cleanup” procedure on that knee and that it now “feels the best it’s felt this whole time.”
Cable also said Carpentrer is significantly stronger.
“He’s had a monumental offseason in the weight room,” Cable said. “For a big guy and coming out of Alabama you would think he was there in terms of strength numbers; he really wasn’t, but he is now. So it’s a real credit to him and [strength and conditioning coach Chris] Carlisle and those guys in the weight room.”
Carpenter is among the four players competing for one of two starting spots at guard, the others being Paul McQuistan, John Moffitt and J.R. Sweezy.