Deion Branch Suffers Severe Stone Bruise

Yep, stone.

The Seahawks have been dealing with injuries all season, but now they're starting to recycle. Both Matt Hasselbeck and Deion Branch came out of the week hurt, but not too hurt. Hasselbeck was out early with a hyperextended knee, but came back after some painkillers and tests made it possible for him to come back. He'll have some imaging done this week, but it appears that he escaped any serious damage. Branch wasn't quite so lucky, though it wasn't as bad as initially reported. He has a severe stone bruise on his heel, a painful but not serious injury. It's unlikely he'll be ready to go next week, but he shouldn't be out much longer than that. Given the reports that he was limping, it's tough to say if this was a cascade injury or just bad luck, but the extra healing time his knee will get, it should cancel out the effects.

It gets its name from a common cause, stepping on a stone.

Seattle had the chance to place Deion Branch on the PUP list. It didn't and has lost talent it otherwise could have retained. Branch hurt himself by landing one-footed on a jump in the first quarter. Did Branch do so because he lacks confidence in his knee? Either way, a stone bruise is about as good as this injury could be. He is expected to miss one week.