Marshawn Lynch expected to return, but Bobby Wagner a question mark for Seahawks-Panthers

RENTON – The Seahawks may not have their All-Pro middle linebacker for Sunday’s all-important game against Carolina.

Running back Marshawn Lynch is expected to play, but Bobby Wagner’s availability is in question due to the pectoral strain that briefly knocked him out of last week’s game against Cincinnati and kept him from practicing Wednesday and Thursday. Wagner took part in Friday’s practice on a limited basis on Friday and is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the 4-0 Panthers at CenturyLink Field.

That means he has an estimated 50/50 chance at playing. Coach Pete Carroll seemed every bit as uncertain about Wagner’s availability as that designation would indicate.

“I can’t tell you what’s going to happen with this,” Carroll said. “He did get some looks today to catch him up on the game-plan and he moves around fine, but it’s a shoulder/pec thing, so we’ll have to wait for game time to see if it’s safe for him to play.”

Carroll said it’s not so much a matter of pain-tolerance with Wagner’s injury but more so the risk of it worsening.

“He’s tough enough to play with it. It’s just whether it’s the right thing to do to get him back to health. We need to judge that when we get right up to game-time,” Carroll said, adding that another factor will be the shortened schedule next week with a Thursday-night game at San Francisco. “It might be a tough turnaround if he does play, so we’ll just take in all the factors and figure that out.”

If Wagner can’t play, K.J. Wright would move to middle linebacker and Kevin Pierre-Louis would take his spot on the weak side. Wright took reps at both spots in practice this week in the event that he has to replace Wagner, which he’s done for stretches of games in each of the past two seasons. Wright also started at middle linebacker in Week 1 of his rookie season in 2011, replacing an injured David Hawthorne.

“It’s a natural move for us,” Carroll said. “K.J.’s played for a good while for us, in and out and he’s always available to play that spot. That’s not a big transition.”

Lynch, meanwhile, is listed as questionable, but Carroll said Friday – as he has all week – that Lynch is expected to play after missing the last two games and most of a third with a hamstring injury. Lynch was a full participant in practice Friday, and Carroll said he “looked really back to full health.”

New CB will likely play

Carroll said cornerback Crezdon Butler is sufficiently up to speed to play Sunday and is expected to be active.

The Seahawks signed Butler earlier this week with their cornerback depth thinned by recent injuries. Tharold Simon was placed on injured reserve last weekend because of a problematic toe, Marcus Burley is recovering from thumb surgery and rookie Tye Smith won’t play Sunday because of a hip injury.

Smith could be back as early as next week, Carroll said. The timetable Carroll previously gave for Burley was two or three weeks from his surgery, which was last Thursday.

OUT
CB Marcus Burley (thumb)

DOUBTFUL
DT Jordan Hill (quadriceps)
CB Tye Smith (hip)
DE Frank Clark (hamstring)
LB Nick Moody (ankle)

QUESTIONABLE
DT Demarcus Dobbs (shoulder)
LB Brock Coyle (knee)
LB Bobby Wagner (pectoral)
RB Marshawn Lynch (hamstring)

PROBABLE
LB Kevin Pierre-Louis (hamstring)
DE Michael Bennett (not injury related)

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