Seahawks’ Clowney back, but Willson misses 2nd straight contest

The Seahawks’ defensive line will be back close to full strength for tonight’s primetime matchup with the Minnesota Vikings, as both defensive end Jadeveon Clowney and defensive tackle Jarran Reed are active. The same can’t be said at tight end, however, as Luke Willson will miss his second straight game.

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For the Vikings, as was reported late last week, star receiver Adam Thielen will not play because of a hamstring injury. Thielen is part of a receiving duo along with Stefon Diggs that ranks among the best in the NFL. Diggs will be the de facto No. 1 option for quarterback Kirk Cousins, who leads the NFL in passer rating.

Willson is still battling a hamstring injury that caused him to leave the Seahawks’ Week 10 game against the 49ers. Seattle head coach Pete Carroll described the injury as “legit,” and he missed last week’s contest against the Philadelphia Eagles. He was listed as questionable prior to tonight’s contest.

Seahawks inactives vs. the Vikings pic.twitter.com/yN7mKR1VAC

— Seahawks PR (@seahawksPR) December 2, 2019

Carroll said over the weekend that he expected both Clowney and Reed to play tonight, but he wasn’t as sure about linebacker Mychal Kendricks, who suffered a hamstring injury during practice last week. Thankfully for the Seahawks, those three are all active and will start for Seattle. All three were listed as questionable on the Seahawks’ injury report.

For Kendricks, he may have more of an edge tonight as he fights for family supremacy. His brother, Eric Kendricks, is a starting linebacker for the Vikings.

Clowney suffered a hip/core injury against the 49ers but played the whole game. He missed last week’s contest against the Philadelphia Eagles due to the injury. He said last week that he will not undergo surgery now but may after the season is over.

When we last saw Clowney on the field, he was a force, earning NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors for his work in terrorizing 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco rushing attack.

Reed hurt his ankle against the Eagles and left the game but practiced in a limited fashion at the end of last week. Hw should be part of Seattle’s plan to stop Vikings running back Dalvin Cook, who is among the best in the league this year.

Defensive tackle Al Woods, who recovered a fumble last week against the Eagles, is active despite being listed as questionable going into the game with an ankle injury.

Additionally, the Seahawks had an estimated eight players who had flu-like symptoms last week according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, but the illness will not keep anyone out of the game against the Vikings.

Roughly eight Seahawks were battling the flu the past week leading up to tonight’s game against Minnesota, including WRs Tyler Lockett and David Moore, per sources. None of the Seahawks with the flu were listed on the injury report, so Seattle expects them all to play tonight.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 2, 2019

That includes the Seahawks’ leading receiver Tyler Lockett, who has also been battling a shin injury that caused him to leave the game against the 49ers. While he played last week, Lockett did not return kicks or punts. He had just one catch, but it was for 38 yards.

The Seahawks are, as they have been in recent weeks, pretty healthy. Just Willson, fullback/special teamer Nick Bellore and cornerback/special teams captain Neiko Thorpe are missing the game due to injury.

The other four members of the Seahawks’ inactives list are all healthy scratches. First-round pick L.J. Collier is once again inactive, as is rookie receiver John Ursua. Running back C.J. Prosise is also a healthy scratch, along with rookie offensive guard Phil Haynes, who was activated before the 49ers game but has yet to appear in a game.

For the Vikings, Thielen is the only notable name inactive aside from fomer Washington State defensive lineman Hercules Mata’afa.

Tonight’s #Vikings inactives pic.twitter.com/vHNkb9Dln5

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) December 2, 2019

Starting safeties Harrison Smith and Anthony Harris and starting defensive lineman Linval Joseph and Shamar Stephen were all questionable but will play.

To add depth to the Vikings’ receiving core, Minnesota waived linebacker Ben Gedeon and signed receiver Alexander Hollins.

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