Seahawks RB Chris Carson not yet cleared, ruled out for Week 6
Oct 15, 2021, 8:35 AM | Updated: 1:29 pm
Seahawks running back Chris Carson carries the football against the Los Angeles Rams in an NFC Wild Card game at Lumen Field on Jan. 9. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Not only are the Seahawks playing their first game in a decade without Russell Wilson at quarterback on Sunday, but they will continue to miss their top running back, as well.
Two Takes: The most important Seahawks while Russell Wilson is out
Chris Carson, who was inactive for Seattle’s Week 5 loss to the Los Angeles Rams due to an ongoing neck “condition,” as head coach Pete Carroll has termed it, was ruled out Friday afternoon for the Seahawks’ Sunday night game in Pittsburgh against the Steelers.
On The Pete Carroll Preview on KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, which aired Friday morning, the Seahawks head coach said Carson had yet to be cleared.
“We’ll see at the end of the week, see what the situation is with him. He’s much improved but yet still not cleared to get back yet,” Carroll told Seahawks announcer Steve Raible in the interview.
Carson did not practice this week even though Carroll said Wednesday that the team hoped he would return to practice Thursday.
The neck injury for the 27-year-old Carson first popped up on the Seahawks’ injury report last week prior to the Rams game, though Carroll said at the time that the injury wasn’t new even though it was being acknowledged publicly for the first time.
“He has had kind of a long-term, I guess it would be kind of a condition that he’s dealt with, and sometimes it flares up and sometimes it doesn’t,” Carroll said during an Oct. 6 press conference. “We’ve tested him and MRI’d him and all that kind of stuff, and it’s no different than it’s been. It’s just obviously inflamed right now, and so we’ve got to see if it quiets down.”
Without Carson, the Seahawks will again have to turn to Alex Collins as their main option out of the backfield as Rashaad Penny, who was Seattle’s backup running back out of training camp, remains on injured reserve with a calf injury suffered in Week 1.
Heaps: Why the Seahawks’ running game is especially critical now
Carroll had good news about Penny on Friday, though.
“I’m really fired up about Rashaad Penny coming back next week. He’s ready to go right now and he’s one more week on IR to get there, so we’ll build that back up,” Carroll told Raible.
In addition to Carson, the Seahawks ruled out Wilson, as expected, and tackle Cedric Ogbuehi due to biceps and chest injuries on Friday. No other players are listed on Friday’s injury report, including DK Metcalf, who did not practice Thursday due to a foot injury.
“The other fellas are doing good and are ready to play,” Carroll said to Raible.
The Pete Carroll Preview airs Friday mornings on KIRO Radio 97.3 FM and Friday afternoons on 710 ESPN Seattle’s Wyman and Bob, and can be found in podcast form at this link.
Salk: Big answers about Seahawks are coming with Russell Wilson sidelined
