Duane Brown updates fans on his injured ankle

There was no shortage of Seattle Seahawks who required medical attention during the Thursday night game against the Arizona Cardinals, and perhaps the player with the most impact on the offensive success who was injured in the contest was recently acquired three time Pro Bowl left tackle Duane Brown.

Brown stepped right into the starting role in his first game with the Hawks as Seattle took on the Washington Redskins, and was an instant upgrade at left tackle. Just days after the game against Washington the player Brown replaced at left tackle, second year lineman Rees Odhiambo, was moved to injured reserve with injuries to both hands. That led to the situation in the second quarter of the Thursday game where when Duane Brown had his lower leg rolled up on by a Cardinals defensive player the Hawks could not replace Brown with the player he had replaced.

In stepped Matt Tobin at tackle to protect Russell Wilson’s blindside. For fans who had been clamoring to see what Tobin had and asking if he could possibly be worse than Odhiambo over the first seven games of the season, this was their first chance to see Tobin in action on the line. The results were not pretty.

Having played only 29 offensive snaps coming into the game, Tobin was on the field for 31 snaps against the Cardinals, with 30 of those 31 snaps coming in place of the injured Brown. Making Tobin’s job harder was the fact that he was lining up across from Pro Bowl defensive end Chandler Jones. It’s one thing to come off the bench for one’s first extended experience of the season and face an average player. It’s an entirely different story to be forced into action late in the second quarter and have to face an athletic freak of nature who is very good at what he does. In any case, Tobin had issues keeping Jones out of the pocket for the remainder of the night, and so the need for the team to get Brown healthy and back on the field was on display for much of the second half.

Brown gave an update on his status on Instagram late Friday, and it based on his, “As for me? I’ll be aight.” It appears he should be ready for next Monday’s matchup against the Atlanta Falcons.

That is good news for Hawks fans, as the Falcons sacked Russell Wilson three times and hit him seven times in the NFC Divisional Round of the playoffs last season, so keeping Russell upright and healthy down the stretch and through the playoffs will be key.