Seahawks’ reinforcements likely a few weeks away

By Danny O’Neil

RENTON – The Seahawks’ offense has help on the way with two starting tackles and one game-breaking receiver working their way back toward the field.

Coach Pete Carroll said he isn’t counting on receiver Percy Harvin making his Seahawks debut against Atlanta. (AP)

Those returns aren’t imminent, however. At least not for this week’s game in Atlanta as left tackle Russell Okung isn’t yet eligible to return, right tackle Breno Giacomini isn’t likely to be ready and receiver Percy Harvin may not be available either.

“I don’t know that,” coach Pete Carroll said Monday when asked if Harvin could play this week. “I’m not counting on that.”

Harvin began the season on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list after undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip. Players on the PUP list are required to sit out the first six games before they can even begin practicing. Once a player starts practicing, the team has a three-week window to promote that player to the active roster or lose his availability for the season.

Harvin caught passes from quarterback Russell Wilson on Oct. 21, according to a report that day from the team’s website. The Seahawks have three weeks in which to activate Harvin, which gives them until next Monday.

It remains possible he’ll be ready this week.

“We’ll see,” Carroll said. “We’re still working to bring him on back. I know he had a good rehab today. So we’ll see how he does tomorrow.”

The prognosis is a little clearer for Okung, who suffered a toe injury and was placed on injured reserve on Sept. 20 with the designation to return. The rules state Okung must sit out six games before he is eligible to begin practicing and must miss eight games before he is eligible to return.

Okung is now eligible to practice with the team, but he can’t play until Seattle’s Nov. 17 game against Minnesota at the earliest.

Giacomini is coming back from arthroscopic knee surgery, and Carroll indicated it will take more than a week of practice before he’s ready to return to the field.

“It’s not likely that he’ll be ready to get back,” Carroll said of Giacomini, who has not been on the field since Week 3. “It’s a lot to ask in one week’s time on the practice field. We’d like to take a couple of weeks, get him back, really get him solid, his legs under him.”

Paul McQuistan has played left tackle since Okung went out and rookie Michael Bowie has been playing right tackle.

Note

• C Max Unger had the symptoms of a concussion, coming out of Sunday’s game with 5 minutes left in the fourth quarter. DE Red Bryant is also being treated for a concussion, according to Carroll. The team won’t know about their availability for this week’s game until later in the week.