The Seattle Seahawks got some good news to start training camp when defensive end Ezekiel Ansah was cleared to the active roster. Still recovering from shoulder surgery last season, Ansah was thought to be a candidate to land on the physically unable to perform list.
“He is moving great, he’s in terrific shape already,” coach Pete Carroll said after Thursday’s practice. “We’re just going to ease our way into these days and see how he can handle the work. Don’t want to rush it. We had the thought all along it would probably be all the way through camp, so the fact that he isn’t on PUP now and he’s going to get work – he’ll be in walkthroughs today – so he can actively be involved.”
Ansah, who was signed as a free agent this spring, did not participate in any of the Seahawks’ offseason activities. Although his shoulder is completely healed, Carroll doesn’t want to rush him back too quickly.
“I am concerned about just mixing him into the group, and I don’t want him to be on the side until he comes back, so this has worked out well,” Carroll explained. “He’s got a great attitude about it, he’s going to learn well, but I want him to mix, I want our guys to feel him and understand him too. So I think we’ve made a great decision here.”
Carroll isn’t ruling out the possibility that Ansah could even be ready to start the regular season.
“I’m not holding out anything but that he’s going to be,” Carroll said. “I’m just thinking that he is, and then we’ll see what happens from there.”
