Seahawks go into their bye week with no new injuries, hope to return healthy

Ahead of their Sunday Night Football showdown against the Minnesota Vikings, the Seattle Seahawks elected to play it safe with a handful of players, with their bye week just around the corner.

Jamal Adams, Jordyn Brooks, Mike Iupati, and Damon Harrison, among others, were afforded a little extra time to get ready to play instead of being forced into action right before their bye week. The Seahawks won in Week 5, advancing to 5-0, and will now hope to see the benefits of their cautious approach to player health.

Against the Vikings, Seattle saw only a pair of potentially worrisome injuries, with defensive tackle Anthony Rush leaving with a knee injury and cornerback Quinton Dunbar continuing to manage a knee problem. Pete Carroll, speaking to reporters on Monday, seemed optimistic about both players, saying Rush’s knee swelled up and there is some uncertainty around what that means, while Dunbar was just dealing with cramps.

The injury luck in Week 5, as well as allowing players to target a return after the bye week instead of before, should pay off massively when the Seahawks return against the Cardinals in Week 7. Among those currently on the active roster, Seattle will hope to have Adams, Brooks, Iupati, and Lano Hill return when the team does—while Harrison’s additional conditioning time should pay off and allow him to play a role moving forward. Dunbar, too, will surely benefit from a week of rest and conditioning, after a stop-and-start first five weeks.

Those returning players will be joined by Rasheem Green and Phillip Dorsett, both of whom the team hopes to have come off injured reserve in the coming weeks. So while the Seahawks have had to deal with a considerable number of injuries over the first five weeks of the season—some of which were season-ending—they can also expect to get a number of players back for the second part of the season. Combined with those who have stepped up when pressed into action, such as Ryan Neal and Ugo Amadi, Seattle could start the stretch run deeper than anticipated.