JD McKissic is the latest in long line of Seahawks running back injuries since 2015

From 2012 to 2014, the Seattle Seahawks relied on Marshawn Lynch and Robert Turbin as its 1-2 combination at running back. Neither one of them missed any of Seattle’s 56 combined regular- and post-season games during that golden stretch of Seahawks football.

Then the 2015 season began, and it’s been a revolving door at running back due to an almost comical frequency of injuries throughout the depth chart. With JD McKissic now out 4-6 weeks with a foot fracture, I figured now is the time to take a completely unwanted trip down memory lane to see how decimated the Seahawks have been at this position heading into a fourth consecutive season. (Note: I’m not counting fullbacks, which actually would’ve made this list worse)

2015

—Marshawn Lynch misses two games with a hamstring injury in September-October.

—Marshawn Lynch misses final seven regular season games, as well as playoff win vs. Minnesota Vikings after sports hernia surgery following November loss to Arizona Cardinals.

—Thomas Rawls fractures ankle and tears ligaments vs. Baltimore Ravens in December, missing team’s final five games. This is what spawned the Christine Michael return.

Cumulative games missed: 15

2016

—C.J. Prosise injures wrist in regular season opener in September, misses four games.

—Thomas Rawls misses seven games after suffering hairline fracture in fibula against the Los Angeles Rams in September.

—C.J. Prosise out for remainder of the season (eight games with fractured scapula suffered against Philadelphia Eagles in November.

—Troymaine Pope placed on injured reserve after spraining his ankle against Green Bay Packers in December, therefore missing team’s final five games.

Cumulative games missed: 24

2017

—Thomas Rawls misses season opener in September vs. Green Bay Packers with ankle sprain suffered in training camp.

—C.J. Prosise misses two games in October with “significant ankle injury.”

—Chris Carson out for remainder of season (12 games) in October with leg fracture and ankle sprain in win vs. Indianapolis Colts.

—Eddie Lacy misses one game in November vs. Arizona Cardinals with groin strain suffered in loss vs. Washington.

—C.J. Prosise suffers separate ankle injury in November vs. Arizona Cardinals, placed on injured reserve for final seven games.

—Mike Davis misses one game in November vs. San Francisco 49ers due to groin injury sustained in loss to Atlanta Falcons.

Cumulative games missed: 24

2018 (regular season hasn’t even started!!!)

—C.J. Prosise misses preseason opener in August due to a hip flexor injury.

—Rashaad Penny likely out until regular season opener with broken finger.

—JD McKissic out 4-6 weeks with broken foot.

It’s been rough. And the Seahawks are going to start 2018 without McKissic for a couple of games.

For perspective, these are the running backs (again, fullbacks aren’t counted) who carried the ball for Seattle from 2012-2014:

Marshawn Lynch
Robert Turbin
Leon Washington
Christine Michael
Spencer Ware

—-

And now here are the Seahawks running backs who’ve gotten a carry since 2015:

Marshawn Lynch
Thomas Rawls
Christine Michael
Mike Davis
Chris Carson
C.J. Prosise
J.D. McKissic
Eddie Lacy
Alex Collins
Fred Jackson
Bryce Brown
DuJuan Harris
Troymaine Pope
Terrence Magee
C.J. Spiller
Rod Smith
George Farmer

That’s 17 running backs through three seasons! And once Penny makes his debut it’ll increase to 18. Fred Jackson is the most recent Seahawks RB to appear in all 16 regular season games, and he played through a high-ankle sprain on several occasions at 34 years of age. Among the starters, Christine Michael was by far the most durable, but he was cut midway through 2016 and is now with the Indianapolis Colts, where he was seen recently running out of bounds in a scramble drill.

Let’s just hope that the preseason injuries Seahawks RBs have endured is as bad as it gets for 2018, or else it’s going to be another rough time for the offense.