Danny O'neil is reporting that Josh Wilson and Sean Locklear have both suffered high ankle sprains.
Why is a high ankle sprain worse than a typical ankle sprain? One can figure it out pretty intuitively, actually. A regular ankle sprain involves an ankle overextending medially. The ankle is designed for some medial movement. That means it can twist and turn from a straight position towards the middle of one's body. That motions is called pronation. It does not move well laterally. That motion is called supination. A lateral, common ankle sprain involves movement of the foot medially. The sprain occurs to the ligaments being stretched rather than the ligaments being compacted. When someone suffers a high ankle sprain, it is because the ankle is over supinated. It has moved too far laterally and strained the ligaments on the medial side.
When a foot is over-supinated it strains this group of ligaments.
High ankle sprains can vary in severity. Most are serious though and will keep a player out for 4-6 weeks. High ankle sprains recur, too. Meaning Locklear and Wilson are now more at-risk for another high ankle sprain than they were before the injury. This is one reason injuries are not simply luck.
The loss of Wilson combined with Marcus Trufant's injury and the promotion of Jordan Babineaux leaves Seattle functionally without depth at the cornerback. Dimeback Travis Fisher has yet to play a snap and has missed significant practice time. Babineaux might be moved back to corner to bolster Seattle's depth. The team's depth at safety is comparably strong.
Walter Jones is projected to return this week. He has accomplished superhuman feats before, and if his recovery is complete and Jones is once again an above-average left tackle, that feat would rank among his greatest. Backing up Jones, Seattle has Brandon Frye on its roster and Kyle Williams on its practice squad. Frye played some tackle at Virgina Tech, but has played guard most of his pro career. Yesterday was his first regular season snaps at the position. Williams is a big body that doesn't kill himself with his technique and decision making. He also isn't very good and limits what Seattle can do.
Seattle has relied on quick recoveries in the past and gotten themselves into deep trouble. I wonder if today's announcement foreshadows a Keary Colbert-type move. Seattle could trade picks for an unwanted player. Or it could use those picks to draft younger, healthier talent that can contribute to the Seahawks future.