TE John Carlson to IR, RT position open for competition

The Seahawks twitter feed lets us know John Carlson will have season-ending surgery on his shoulder, specifically to repair a torn labrum. He will be placed on IR and after one year on IR will hit the free agent market with his rookie contract served out.

This kills the dream of having Miller and Carlson both on the field at the same time, creating matchup nightmares, which is certainly a shame. Obviously, it is also a shame for John Carlson, and we wish him all the best in his recovery. "This sucks", to put it simply.

That said, from a team perspective it is not a catastrophe, we have been set enough at TE depth that many were suggesting trades or worried about cuts. Specifically, we have Zach Miller, last year's 6th-round potential steal Anthony McCoy (who had a really strong pre-season) and Dominique Byrd, a former USC player and 2006 3rd round pick. This is a group that looks pretty set for this season and seasons to come. Additionally, we have Cameron Morrah on PUP, another talented pass-catching TE. This injury does turn the Miller signing from a somewhat superfluous signing into a pretty damn fortunate one.

A second big piece of news from Pete Carroll's presser was that the RT position has been opened for competition, which makes sense given last game's performance and rotation. The current competition is between rookie 1st rounder James Carpenter and 2008 Packers 5th round pick Breno Giacomini, the early favorite for Jacson's Most Italian Name Ever award. Giacomini's experience gives him an edge over Carpenter, who is clearly struggling with the shortened off-season, and it might do Carpenter some good to learn from the bench for a bit if Giacomini wins the competition. In any case, it's not a hugely negative sign for Carpenter's career, so don't panic.

In a piece of good news, Pete Carroll let us know Russell Okung is "pretty close" to returning. "If [Friday] was the opener, he'd try to go this week." Great news.

Minor news: Marshawn Lynch (ankle) and David Hawthorne (knee) did not practice and won't play against the Raiders. Kam Chancellor (foot) did not practice but did run and is close to returning to the team.