Seattle Seahawks QB Geno Smith Questionable, But Expected to Play vs. San Francisco 49ers
While he isn’t 100 percent healthy due to an elbow injury, Geno Smith made enough progress on a short week for the Seattle Seahawks to be confident he will be ready to suit up and start against the San Francisco 49ers on Thanksgiving night.
Just three days after suffering a tricep/elbow injury against the Los Angeles Rams, the Seattle Seahawks expect to have starting quarterback Geno Smith under center against the San Francisco 49ers on Thanksgiving.
Despite being listed as questionable on Seattle’s final injury report, coach Pete Carroll told reporters after Wednesday’s practice that he “did quite well” after resting the first two days of the week and looked great throwing the football, an indicator he should be ready to roll on Thursday night.
“We rested him for most of the week – a short week – and in terms of throwing, he did really well today,” Carroll said, confirming he expects Smith to play.
While Smith should be taking snaps from Evan Brown per usual, the Seahawks won’t be as fortunate in the backfield and at receiver. Dealing with a strained oblique, starting running back Ken Walker III didn’t practice all week and though the team listed him as doubtful, Carroll all but ruled him out against the 49ers. Receiver Dareke Young also has been listed as doubtful due to abdominal injury and likely will miss a second straight game.
With Walker likely sidelined for at least one game, Seattle will turn to rookie Zach Charbonnet as his replacement in the starting lineup. From a depth standpoint, seventh-round pick Kenny McIntosh will finally make his NFL regular season debut after spending the first eight weeks on injured reserve with a sprained knee and veteran DeeJay Dallas will also be available to tote the rock.
At receiver, third-year wideout Dee Eskridge should be active once again in place of Young seeing snaps on offense and special teams. The Seahawks will have their full arsenal of receivers with DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett not listed on the final injury report after being limited earlier in the week by toe and hamstring issues respectively.
In addition, right tackle Abraham Lucas won’t return to game action this week either despite participating in walkthroughs this week and receiving a questionable designation. According to Carroll, he does have a chance to be activated from injured reserve and make it back by next Thursday to face the Cowboys in Dallas, but he will miss his 10th straight game due to a knee issue.
Defensively, Seattle will have safety Jamal Adams back in the starting lineup after sitting out Sunday’s loss in Los Angeles with a sore knee. Given a few extra days to get right, he didn’t receive a designation on Wednesday’s report and will be back in time to square off with talented tight end George Kittle.
Carroll also hinted cornerback/safety Coby Bryant, who was designated to return to practice earlier this week, could be activated for Thursday’s game to add depth in the secondary. Following news rookie safety Jerrick Reed II tore his ACL and will miss the rest of the season, the second-year defender from Cincinnati could be the primary benefactor to help fill that void on special teams.
For Bryant to be available to dress, the Seahawks will need to make a roster move before tomorrow’s game, but that should be an easy transaction with Reed going to injured reserve for the remainder of the season.
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