Seahawks Injuries: The latest on Geno Smith’s knee and more

Update 10:26 a.m. Monday: Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald had a small update on the knee injury to Geno Smith during his weekly conversation with Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk. Seattle Sports’ Stacy Rost and Maura Dooley have the details below.

#Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald tells @BrockHuard & @TheMikeSalk that QB Geno Smith seemed "optimistic" while texting with him this morning.

More: https://t.co/b5GH1gR5xX https://t.co/DCMjQVN6kC pic.twitter.com/Y6rVdIgfY1

— Seattle Sports (@SeattleSports) December 16, 2024

Mike Macdonald on @SeattleSports says there's no update on Geno Smith (knee) just yet. They'll know more soon: "He seemed optimistic this morning, (I) was texting with him."

— Stacy Jo Rost (@StacyRost) December 16, 2024

Mike Macdonald tells @SeattleSports that they don't have an update on Geno Smith yet but Geno seemed optimistic this morning when he was texting with him. When asked if there was a possibility Geno could play this week based on what they know so far, he said yes.

— Maura Dooley (@Maura_Dool) December 16, 2024

Original story:

SEATTLE – Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said quarterback Geno Smith’s knee appears to be OK structurally, but that the 34-year-old veteran will undergo testing on Monday after he exited Sunday night’s 30-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers midway through the third quarter.

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With Seattle trailing 20-3, Smith took a low shot to the legs from linebacker Edgerrin Cooper just after he released the ball on an incomplete pass. After the hit, Smith began to limp off the field before laying down on the turf in noticeable pain. He was evaluated in the medical tent on the sideline and then limped back to the locker room soon after. The Seahawks designated him as questionable to return, but backup quarterback Sam Howell played the rest of the way.

“I’ll tell you this: I mean, this guy is probably the toughest player I’ve ever been around,” Macdonald said of Smith. “It was severe enough for him to not come back in the game. We’ll do tests tomorrow and kind of figure it out as we go. But right now, structurally it looks like it’s OK, but we’re gonna get it imaged and all that stuff.”

Macdonald said Smith wanted to return to the game but ultimately wasn’t able to.

“He fought to come back one of those (second-half) drives,” Macdonald said. “… He just couldn’t go.”

Before exiting, Smith completed 15 of 19 passes for 149 yards, no touchdowns and a costly red-zone interception. He was sacked three times while under frequent pressure from the Packers’ defensive front. He entered the game ranked second in the league with 3,474 passing yards.

“It’s tough,” Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV said. “Geno is the heartbeat of this offense, the heartbeat of this team. He’s one of our leaders. So obviously you don’t want to see him get hurt, but we’ve got confidence in Sam. … I pray everything is OK with Geno, but we’ve gotta be ready to go whoever is at quarterback.”

Howell, acquired in a trade with the Washington Commanders this past March, struggled mightily in his first notable action with the Seahawks. The third-year quarterback completed just 5 of 14 passes for 24 yards, while throwing an interception and taking four sacks.

Prior to Sunday, Howell appeared in one game this season but didn’t attempt a pass. He started all 17 games for the Commanders last year, throwing for 3,946 yards with 21 touchdowns and a league-high 21 interceptions.

“At the end of the day, I’ve gotta be better,” Howell said. “My job is to be ready to go in there and play well and help this team win, and I didn’t do that today. So I’ve just gotta be better and watch the film and learn from it.”

Macdonald said he’s unsure if Smith will miss more time. Seattle hosts the 11-2 Minnesota Vikings next Sunday.

“I know he’ll do everything humanly possible to go play,” Macdonald said. “But I just don’t know right now.”

Oluwatimi injured

Second-year center Olu Oluwatimi exited with a knee/quad injury in the second quarter Sunday, forcing undrafted rookie Jalen Sundell to play the rest of the game at center. That ended a rare stretch of continuity for Seattle’s O-line, which had gone back-to-back full games with the same starting unit.

Oluwatimi has started the past five games at center after season-opening starter Connor Williams abruptly retired in the middle of the season.

“Not sure the severity,” Macdonald said. “It was severe enough for him to not come back in, so we’ll figure out like the extent of the imaging and all that kind of stuff tomorrow.”

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