Seahawks hope Michael Bennett returns in 3 weeks; Troymaine Pope signed to practice squad
Nov 3, 2016, 3:07 PM | Updated: 3:22 pm
(AP)
RENTON – It sounds like Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett will be out closer to three weeks than two.
Coach Pete Carroll said Thursday that Bennett’s arthroscopic knee surgery a day earlier was a success. The initial timetable for Bennett to return was two to three weeks, but Carroll’s comments suggest that at least three is more likely.
“Everything went really well and it was exactly like expected, so that will allow us to be optimistic about a three-week type of window maybe, and we’ll see if he’s able to pull that off,” Carroll said. “We’ll be very fortunate if he does. But that’s kind of how we’re shooting for it. They said two to three weeks if he’s really fortunate, and we’ll see if that happens.”
Bennett was hurt in Week 6 against Atlanta, leaving that game for good when his knee was hyper-extended by a cut-block from offensive tackle Jake Matthews. He played 81 snaps the following week against Arizona but, according to Carroll, felt like something was wrong with his knee in the days after that game. Bennett didn’t play Sunday against New Orleans.
Seattle’s next three games are against Buffalo on Monday night, at New England and against Philadelphia. If Bennett returns in three weeks, he’d be back in time for Seattle’s game at Tampa Bay on Nov. 27.
In the meantime, the Seahawks swapped out one defensive end for another this week, signing former Giants third-round pick Damontre Moore and releasing Malliciah Goodman. Moore, 24, has spent time with Miami and Oakland since the Giants waived him late last season following a fight with a teammate.
Moore recorded 9.5 sacks combined in 30 games over the past two seasons.
“This is a very aggressive kid, very active,” Carroll said. “He fits the style of the motor that he brings, the toughness that he shows, the special teams involvement. He’s blocked some kicks before. He’s had some pretty good numbers and stuff. He’s had some stuff that’s gone on where he’s bounced from a lot of teams. We’re hoping to even that out and really see if we can make him a real contributing factor.”
Here are some other Seahawks personnel notes:
• Strong safety Kam Chancellor isn’t practicing Thursday, a sign that he’s in danger of missing his fourth straight game due to what Carroll has called a “substantial” groin pull. Carroll has expressed optimism the past few weeks that Chancellor would be able to return, but he hasn’t been able to each time. Asked if he’s had a setback, Carroll said: “After about 10 days, he tried and it just didn’t feel right. So it showed that he wasn’t making the progress that we could have hoped for, so it’s just set him back a bit in that regard.”
• The statuses of left tackle Bradley Sowell and linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis are uncertain as well. Carroll said Sowell is day-to-day as he recovers from a sprained MCL he sustained against Arizona two weeks ago and that the team will work him out each day this week. Carroll said Pierre-Louis has a chance to play after missing the last two games with a sprained ankle and that he was close to returning last week.
• Carroll said tight end Luke Willson is “really close” to returning following knee surgery he had two weeks ago. Willson had arthroscopic knee surgery after he was hurt in the Atlanta game. Said Carroll: “Here it is two weeks for Luke and he’s battling to get back out this week, so we’ll see if that works. We’re pretty optimistic.”
• Carroll said wide receiver Tyler Lockett is moving around better as he gets further removed from the knee injury he sustained in Week 2. Lockett has only caught 10 passes for 81 yards in the five games since then. “He’s getting there. He’s getting better. He’s almost back. He’s almost back to full speed,” Carroll said. “Did a nice job in the return game. I’m hoping there’s an emergence of a few guys here that we’re really excited about and Tyler’s one of them for sure. He feels pretty darn good this week.”
• The Seahawks have brought back running back Troymaine Pope, signing him to their practice squad. Pope, an undrafted rookie from Jacksonville State, was a preseason standout for Seattle, averaging 6.8 yards on 24 attempts with two touchdowns. He didn’t make the team heading into the regular season and ended up with the Jets, who waived him earlier this week. He had one carry for 1 yard in his only appearance for the Jets.