Seahawks Vs. Titans: Notes, Injury Updates

Seahawks presumed starting right guard John Moffitt sustained an elbow injury in practice on Thursday and it was announced Friday that he'll have surgery to clean up a few foreign bodies that are now loose in that area. The surgery should put him out two to three weeks, and Pete Carroll said that Moffitt 'should be okay' for the Seahawks' season opener on September 9th at the Arizona Cardinals.

Of course, the Seahawks start their preseason slate this Saturday by hosting Matt Hasselbeck, Jake Locker, and the Tennessee Titans, so starting in Moffit's spot will be former Cardinal Deuce Lutui, signed over the offseason as a backup. Lutui, who also played for Pete Carroll at USC, has had a good training camp after getting his playing weight down to 340 or so, and has a real shot to grab a starting job if Moffitt's return suffers any setbacks (or, if he looks really effective, I suppose). Also seeing significant time during training camp at guard were rookies J.R. Sweezy and Rishaw Johnson. It's a position battle to watch closely, and Pete Carroll made a point to stress that he really wants to see how that trio does at the position, which leads me to believe that Moffitt's grapple hold on that spot isn't as strong as we might assume.

In Carroll's daily post-practice press conference on Friday, he also mentioned some notable sits/starts for this Saturday. WRs Sidney Rice, Doug Baldwin, Ricardo Lockette and newly signed Terrell Owens will sit on Saturday. Pro Bowl RB Marshawn Lynch will also get the day off - presumably just for safety sake, as no specific injury was reported. At this point, it doesn't look like Tarvaris Jackson or Josh Portis will see much action under center, though Carroll played a bit coy on that.

With these players sitting, look for Golden Tate, Ben Obomanu, Braylon Edwards, Deon Butler, Kris Durham and a host of other receiver hopefuls to catch passes from Matt Flynn and Russell Wilson. Look for Robert Turbin, Leon Washington, Tyrell Sutton, Kregg Lumpkin and Vai Taua to get the bulk of the carries on the ground.