Double returns? Chris Carson trying to join Russell Wilson off IR for Seahawks at Packers
Russell Wilson is not the only Seahawks headliner trying to return off injured reserve to play in their next game.
Leading running back Chris Carson intends to play for the first time in six weeks when Seattle next plays, Nov. 14 at Green Bay.
Coach Pete Carroll said Carson needs to prove next Monday to the team’s medical staff upon the players’ return from their bye week that his long-term neck condition has improved enough to practice.
If a doctor clears him to do that, Carson then must prove he can practice all next week without a return to the neck discomfort that has kept him off the field since Oct. 3. He last played in Seattle’s win at San Francisco in week four.
“Talking to Chris, he wants to go for it next week,” Carroll said. “He has to get back on Monday and check in with the doctors to see where he is and show that he is OK. Then if he does, he will start practicing. We will find out where he stands once we get to practice.”
Carroll had said Friday Carson “has to make a turn” in the positive direction, raising the possibility Carson could miss the rest of this season.
The team signed him to a new, two-year contract worth more than $10 million with $5.5 million guaranteed this year back in the spring. The 27-year-old Carson hasn’t completed a full season without injury since he was in junior college.
He plays the position with the highest rate of injury and shortest career span in the NFL.
Alex Collins has been the Seahawks’ lead back in the four games Carson has missed.
Now he’s hurt, too. He has a groin issue and is benefiting from this players’ week away from football.
Carroll, offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and running backs coach Chad Morton intended for Rashaad Penny to share Collins’ load replacing Carson. But the 2018 first-round draft choice just came off injured reserve two weeks ago. Penny has had six carries for 9 yards and seven carries for 7 yards in his two games back off IR, Seattle’s loss to New Orleans and win over Jacksonville.
So, like they need Wilson, the 3-5 Seahawks could really use Carson to be the focal point of the offense Waldron intended him to be this season. Seattle’s offensive line has mammoth problems protecting quarterbacks trying to throw when defenses know the Seahawks can’t or aren’t running the ball effectively.
“We want to be able to run the ball, and certainly be able to do it at a more effective level and stay committed to it as the game goes on,” Waldron said in late September, after Seattle mostly ran to nowhere in losing to Tennessee.
“(It) is so important that we can stay committed, on track, and move the ball with the run game.”
Carson had 2,381 yards rushing with 18 touchdowns in the 2018 and ‘19 seasons before his latest string of injuries. He’s who the Seahawks need to get their needed running game going.
“He’s really determined to get that done,” Carroll said. “So I’m keeping my fingers crossed for him, that he can get a chance to get back on the field and start working with us.
“That’s about as optimistic as we can be, until we know more.”
This story was originally published November 2, 2021 at 12:57 PM with the headline "Double returns? Chris Carson trying to join Russell Wilson off IR for Seahawks at Packers."
