Seahawks Injuries: Carroll’s latest on Darrell Taylor, RBs Collins and Penny

The scary situation the Seahawks and pass rusher Darrell Taylor went through last Sunday night appears to be completely behind them now.

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Friday morning on KIRO Radio 97.3 FM’s Pete Carroll Preview, the Seahawks head coach provided the latest on Taylor, who was taken off the field on a stretcher and transported to a nearby hospital by ambulance during last week’s loss in Pittsburgh due to a neck injury.

“For all our fans that are concerned about that and all, he practiced on Wednesday so he’s OK,” Carroll said. “He was clear with his CAT scans and MRIs and all of that. He has a stiff neck and that’s all he really got out of it so we’re really, really lucky. The docs did a great job protecting him and all that they had to do, but the result has turned out great.”

Taylor was listed as a limited participant in Thursday’s practice, but Carroll said during his press conference that afternoon that Taylor expects to play in Seattle’s Monday night game against the New Orleans Saints.

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Though the 24-year-old Taylor was a 2020 second-round draft pick by the Seahawks, he’s essentially a rookie this year after missing all of 2020 while recovering from leg surgery. And to that end, he’s been quite impressive for a rookie, leading the Hawks with four sacks and six QB hits in six games.

Here are a few other injury updates Carroll shared on Friday’s show:

• Running back Alex Collins (groin) and left guard Damien Lewis (shoulder) were both non-participants in Thursday’s practice, but Carroll isn’t ruling them out for Monday.

“Alex and Damien were able to do a little bit of the walkthrough the first day of the week and both plan to play in the game. We’ll need to see how Damien and Alex can handle the work once they get going a couple days into the week so we don’t know, but both those guys have an optimistic outlook at it and think they’re gonna make it.”

• Running back Rashaad Penny is expected to return from injured reserve for Monday, and Carroll sounds happy with the progress he’s made coming back from a left calf injury suffered in Week 1.

Penny has had a tough road back from surgery to repair a torn ACL that ended his 2019 season, something Carroll said has made it hard to keep the rest of his body in tune. Penny may finally be rounding the corner, however.

“It’s been a long haul and there’s been some bumps in the road in his recovery from the surgery he had a while back,” Carroll said. “… He’s had a real good lead-up (to coming off IR); he’s been working like he’s playing, he’s not just been rehabbing… He’s in great shape right now, he’s trim and all that and he’s ready to go. He looked really good on the practice field and he’s really got an attitude about proving it and doing something.”

The Pete Carroll Preview, a conversation between Carroll and Seahawks Radio Network play-by-play announcer Steve Raible, airs at 8:15 a.m. on the Friday before each Seahawks game on KIRO Radio 97.3 FM. It also re-airs on 710 ESPN Seattle’s Wyman and Bob on Friday afternoons.

Seahawks vs. Saints on Monday night

The Seahawks (2-4) host New Orleans (3-2) at Lumen Field on Monday night with a 5:15 p.m. kickoff. Radio coverage of the game will be carried on 710 ESPN Seattle and KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, beginning at 2 p.m. with the pregame show. For details on how to stream Steve Raible and Dave Wyman on the radio call of Seahawks games, click here.

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