Seahawks initial injury report includes more than half of offensive line

There are only three NFL games in Week 10 that feature two teams with a winning record. In one of the late games Sunday, the Carolina Panthers and the Green Bay Packers will do battle, while the Minnesota Vikings and the Dallas Cowboys go head to head Sunday evening. So, while those two games will carry significant playoff implications, the game of the week comes on Monday, when the Seattle Seahawks travel to take on the division rival San Francisco 49ers.

The Niners bring one of the top defenses in the NFL into the game, in particular a defensive line that has wreaked havoc on opponents. Heading into the game the 49ers lead the league in generating pressure on opposing quarterbacks and are third in the NFL in sacks, in spite of having played one game less than the second place New England Patriots.

Thus, the fact that the entire left side of the Seahawks offensive line was included on the Seahawks initial injury report for Week 10 is not reassuring.

Left tackle Duane Brown did not practice Thursday, apparently continuing to battle the biceps injury he suffered in Week 3 against the New Orleans Saints, as well as the knee injury that popped up for him after the Week 8 game against the Atlanta Falcons. Also not practicing Thursday was new starting center Joey Hunt, who is playing in place of Justin Britt, who is out for the season after tearing his ACL in week 8. Left guard Mike Iupati practiced, but was limited by back and foot injuries. With fourth round draft pick Phil Haynes recently activated to the roster from the physically unable to perform list, it will be interesting to see how the team handles the inactives for the offensive line against the Niners on Monday.

Also not practicing was Jadeveon Clowney with toe and knee injuries, so that is something to watch as the week progresses, while Quinton Jefferson was limited in working back from an oblique injury. That said, Pete Carroll said he expects QJeff back on the field this week, which would be a welcome return to a defense that has had issues rushing the passer so far in 2019.

If Jefferson is indeed active against the Niners, it could push rookie L.J. Collier back onto the inactive list, depending on exactly how the Seahawks work their defensive line rotations. Collier has played just 33 snaps over the last five games after logging 36 snaps in September. It’s been a disappointing showing for the first round pick so far, however, not unsurprising following a foot injury that kept him out of most of training camp and landed him behind the learning curve.

In any case, as in recent weeks, the injury report bears watching as the week progresses in order to see how many of the Seahawks who were limited or did not practice return to the practice field before the end of the week. In addition, it’s also important to keep in mind that since the Hawks play on Monday instead of Sunday this week, that the injury reports are delayed by a day. That means the final injury report which lists players as Out, Doubtful or Questionable will not be released by the team until after practice Saturday.