Seahawks likely without Clowney or Diggs on Sunday
Dec 20, 2019, 3:37 PM
The Seahawks will likely be without two of their best players on defense as both defensive end Jadeveon Clowney and safety Quandre Diggs are doubtful for Sunday’s contest against the Arizona Cardinals.
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The Seahawks defense has been banged up in recent weeks, and four starters were inactive last Sunday against the Carolina Panthers, Clowney included. The other three were cornerback Shaquill Griffin, linebacker Mychal Kendricks and defensive end Ziggy Ansah. Griffin and Kendricks both have hamstring injuries while Ansah has battled a shoulder injury all season long. Clowney has a core injury.
Diggs and Pro Bowl linebacker Bobby Wagner later left the game with ankle injuries, meaning the Seattle defense was composed mostly of backups.
Seattle will have Wagner and Ansah back this Sunday, as neither have an injury designation for Sunday’s game. Griffin, Kendricks and starting left tackle Duane Brown are all listed as questionable.
Clowney, who has been arguably Seattle’s best defensive player this season, missed Week 12 against the Philadelphia Eagles and Week 15 against the Panthers. He suffered the core injury Week 10 in San Francisco when he won NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors for his stellar play.
After practice on Friday, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said Clowney hasn’t been able to do much in practice lately. He hasn’t practiced this week and missed two practices last week.
“We’ve got to see if he can elevate that here in the next couple of days and surprise us, but that’s what we’ve got,” Carroll said of Clowney’s doubtful designation. “We didn’t get much out of him practice-wise. He just couldn’t go yet.”
Clowney has gotten some rest days to try and see if that helps the injury, and said it is a little concerning it hasn’t improved much since missing last week’s contest.
“If he can’t make it back then he can’t make it back,” Carroll said. “We’ve got to just keep waiting on it to see if we can take care of him and maybe the right combination of rest and all that will get it done.”
Diggs left the Panthers game early in the second half and didn’t return. It sounds like he’s a longshot to play Sunday.
“We have him doubtful and we haven’t been able to get him on the (practice) field at all,” Carroll said. “So he’s looking like it’s going to be hard for him to make it.”
Diggs’ absence would be big, as the defense is allowing 13 fewer yards per game since he joined the lineup in Week 10. The defense has also forced over three turnovers per game since then. He has three interceptions including a pick-six and a fumble recovery.
Ansah has missed seven games this season, but Carroll said this is now the healthiest he’s been since signing with the team in the offseason. Ansah practiced fully all week.
“Ziggy had his best week (of practice) since throughout the whole season,” Carroll said. “This is the best week that he’s put together. He’s been working out hard. He’s the heaviest and the strongest he’s been since he’s been with us, so everything looks really positive and I’m really fired up for him to get back and have a chance to get in there and do some good stuff.”
Kendricks and Griffin will both be game-time decisions, Carroll said, and both have practiced in various fashions this week. Tight end Luke Willson, who has been out since Week 10, will be active.
Carroll didn’t speak about Brown, who has a biceps and knee injury, but if he is unable to go, George Fant would likely start in his place, as he did earlier in the season.
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