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Seattle Seahawks free safety Earl Thomas missed the last two defensive series against the Houston Texans on Sunday with a hamstring injury. Now Ian Rapoport is reporting that Thomas is not likely to play in Week 9 against Washington following an MRI.
Following his MRI, #Seahawks S Earl Thomas is considered a long-shot to play Sunday vs. #Redskins, I’m told. Possible, but not likely.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 31, 2017
Head coach Pete Carroll addressed the possibility of Thomas not playing on Monday, saying that backup Bradley McDougald would get the start at free safety if needed. McDougald signed a one-year deal in the offseason to not just be a “big nickel” out there (or some new-ish formation that we’ve yet to really see) but to insure the safety position after the disaster that was Steven Terrell in 2016.
Thomas had not missed a game over the first six years of his career, until he missed a game with a hamstring injury last season and then broke his leg two weeks later. If he is unable to start, this would be his sixth missed game in a year, but he looked as good as ever up to this point so that is encouraging as well.