Seahawks’ Russell Wilson limited in practice again, says he plans to play through pectoral injury

RENTON – Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson said Thursday that he’s feeling the effects of a pectoral injury he sustained Sunday night but that he plans to play through it like he has his ankle and knee sprains.

Wilson’s right pectoral injury was revealed on the Seahawks’ Wednesday practice report, which listed him as limited due to that and his knee injury. He was also listed as limited in Thursday’s practice. Considering he had never in his career been listed as anything other than a full participant until this week, even earlier this season while hobbled with injuries on each leg, his limited participation for two straight practices raises at least some question about his availability for Sunday’s game at New Orleans.

Asked if there’s any chance he may be unable to play Sunday, Wilson – who has never missed a game in his career – smiled and said, “That’s not the plan.”

“You know me,” he added. “I will do everything I can to be ready at the highest level.”

Wilson joked that “the great thing is my ankle is no longer listed” on the practice report and said his pec is “a little sore, but I think we’ll be fine and get over it and just continue to rehab at the highest level as much as I can.”

Asked how much the injury is affecting him, Wilson said: “Anytime you have a pec injury, it’s a little funny. It’s not crazy bad or anything like that. Just treat it as much as I can, try to be smart this week. It says limited on practice; I don’t know what it is to be considered limited. Just try to be as smart as I can and do as much as I can and be smart about that.”

Wilson was injured Sunday night against Arizona. Asked if it occurred on the play on which he was sacked by Chandler Jones, who chopped down at his arm mid-throw, Wilson said he wasn’t sure. But he acknowledged that he played through the injury in overtime and that doing so shows that he can play through it again Sunday.

“For sure, I think that definitely gives you confidence,” he said. “I think you have to be mentally tough through it. Like I said, the ultimate goal is try to find a way to win the game. Obviously this week is just trying to be smart. We don’t play until Sunday so I keep telling the trainers, we still have four full days, so that’s exciting news.”

And it sounds like he’ll need all four. Asked if he’s practicing any lighter this week than usual, he reiterated that he’s trying to be smart when he’s throwing, meaning that he’ll dial it back as to not put any addition strain on the injury, which is on his throwing side. Wilson was seen throwing during the early potion of Thursday’s practice, which is all the media is permitted to watch.

“I can definitely throw it if I needed to, hard or whatever, if I needed to,” he said. “It’s just trying to pace it out. Like I said, I’m not playing until Sunday, so that’s a good thing.”

Wilson also acknowledged that the MCL sprain he sustained in Week 3 has limited his mobility, a departure from what he has typically said about feeling OK despite that injury. Wilson has only rushed 22 times for 33 yards this season, averaging 4 yards fewer per attempt than he has over his career (1.5 to 5.7). And he made something of a revelation about the severity of his knee injury, saying he was told that it could have sidelined him for at least a month.

“I’ve had a pretty relatively serious injury with my knee,” Wilson said when asked where he feels his mobility is at compared to what it was before this season. “They told me I wasn’t supposed to play for four weeks, maybe longer. You just overcome it. I’d be lying to you if I said my mobility was 100 percent, but I feel really good right now. You just take one week at a time, you go out there and try to find a way to win and you try to find a way to continue to help our football team to win in whatever way possible.”