RENTON — The good news for the Seahawks heading into Saturday’s game at Kansas City?
Seattle coach Pete Carroll expects to have a full complement of running backs, saying Thursday that he anticipates both Kenneth Walker III and DeeJay Dallas playing despite each being officially listed as questionable.
The bad news?
Starting strong safety Ryan Neal, who this week has the highest rating for the season of any safety in the NFL via Pro Football Focus, will not play because of a sore knee he has dealt with for the last four weeks.
Neal played through the injury the last three games, but Carroll said the turnaround from the Dec. 11 contest against Carolina to playing four days later against the 49ers “got him. That was just too soon.’’
Neal had been listed as questionable before the last three games but then played, missing one snap of the Panthers and 49ers games. But Carroll said his knee “just didn’t respond this time.’’
Neal was one of three players Seattle ruled out along with receiver Tyler Lockett, who had surgery to repair a broken bone in his hand this week, and defensive tackle Al Woods, who will miss a second straight game because of an Achilles injury.
But everyone else on the active roster should be able to play, including all four players the team listed as questionable — Walker, Dallas, tight end Noah Fant (knee) and receiver Marquise Goodwin (wrist/ankle).
Walker and Dallas are each dealing with ankle injuries suffered in a win over the Rams in Los Angeles on Dec. 4, and Walker also had a case of back spasms creep up this week, which helped prevent him from practicing.
But while Carroll said the team has to “wait and see’’ to make sure Walker is OK he added that “he looked good’’ in workouts he was able to do Wednesday “and should be ready to go.’’
Walker missed the Carolina game Dec. 11 but returned to play against the 49ers with 47 yards on 12 carries and is assuming he will be good to go he will again start against the Chiefs.
Dallas has missed the past two games with a high ankle sprain but returned to practice this week and Carroll said he looked good enough Thursday that the team then pulled him from practice because “he had done enough to show us that he can play.’’
Seattle also has Travis Homer at running back and will likely again elevate Godwin Igwebuike from the practice squad to handle kickoff returns and add additional depth at running back.
The Seahawks are counting on Goodwin to take over starter’s snaps at receiver alongside DK Metcalf with Lockett out, so his listing as questionable seemed ominous, especially when the team added that he was also dealing with an ankle injury along with the previous wrist issue. But Carroll said Goodwin simply got tangled up in practice earlier this week and that the ankle injury doesn’t appear serious.
“He says he’s playing,’’ Carroll said. “We just needed to rest him today.’’
Fant practiced on a limited basis Thursday after sitting out earlier in the week and Carroll said “he should be ready to go.’’
So that means the biggest question for Seattle heading into the game — from a personnel standpoint, anyway — is how to replace Neal, who has become a steadying force in the secondary since taking over a starting role alongside Quandre Diggs at safety five games into the season, replacing Josh Jones.
Neal not only has the best rating of any safety in the NFL this week from Pro Football Focus but also has the best rating in pass coverage of any safety.
And he figured to have a marquee matchup Saturday when he would have often been asked to cover Kansas City tight end Travis Kelcie, who is fifth in the NFL in receptions with 91 for 1,144 yards, with a league-leading 12 receiving touchdowns.
Carroll said the team will rely on both of recently acquired Teez Tabor and Johnathan Abram to fill in for Neal.
Abram, a first-round pick of the Raiders 2019, was claimed off waivers Nov. 30 and has played in the past two games, but only once on defense, with four snaps against Carolina.
Tabor, who entered the league as a cornerback, has served as the third safety the last three weeks after Jones went on injured reserve, with 36 overall snaps, and 10 against the 49ers. The Seahawks signed Tabor off Atlanta’s practice squad in September.
Carroll noted the two have somewhat different styles and strengths, seeming to indicate Abram could be used more to defend the run and rush the passer and Tabor more in coverage, with both likely on the field when Seattle goes to its dime, or six-defensive back, package.
Carroll said Tabor “has real good coverage skills and can do some things there, so they’re real different the way they play. … both those guys will play, so it will be fun to see those guys out there.’’
Lockett back with team next week
Carroll confirmed that Lockett stayed in Los Angeles to rehab his hand this week but that he is expected to return to Seattle next week.
“He stayed in LA so they can do the rehab with him the first few days,’’ Carroll said. “I know he already has movement and can already move, so they are very positive about it.’’
But while Carroll has said all along there is a hope that Lockett can return to play on Jan. 1 against the Jets, he stopped short Thursday of saying that it will for sure happen.
“It’ll be a miraculous return, in my book,’’ Carroll said. “But yet the doc down there is big time and he’s pulled it off before and maybe he’s done it again.’’
Notes
- While Woods will miss a second straight game, Carroll said the expectation is he’ll return for the Jets game, saying Woods “has a really good chance (of playing) next week.’’
- Carroll indicated Daviyon Nixon, who the Seahawks signed this week to add depth on the DL with Woods out another week and Bryan Mone out for the season with an ACL injury suffered against the 49ers, has a chance to play Saturday. Carroll said Nixon impressed in practice Wednesday, saying “he flashed pretty good for the first time out there.’’ The 6-3, 305-pounder was a fifth-round pick of Carolina in 2021 out of Iowa and had six tackles in seven games for the Panthers this year before being released on Dec. 13.