The Seattle Seahawks are set to face off against the Los Angeles Chargers Saturday night. Ahead of the matchup, coach Pete Carroll provided a number of player injury updates.
Because of the size of the roster, we’ve broken the story into two separate posts – the offensive injuries can be found here. Below is a look at the Seahawks defensive players not expected to participate in Los Angeles.
Defensive end Ezekiel Ansah: Ansah had been sidelined all offseason as he recovered from should surgery and recently suffered a groin injury as well. Carroll announced he could be ready to return to practice as soon as next week.
“He has progressed to the point where we think that’s possible,” Carroll told reporters Friday. “I think it’s really important, hopefully, we can put that together. If he has to do it in one week’s time, we will, but we’d like to get two weeks under his belt.”
Defensive end L.J. Collier: Collier sprained his ankle early in training camp and has been kept out of the action. He also has a chance to come back before the home opener in September.
“He looks like he’s ready to come back,” Carroll explained. “We’ve taken really good care of him throughout. We don’t want to rush it at this point, because he looks like he’s going to return here soon. We’ll see if he can race back in the next two weeks.”
Safety Marquise Blair: Blair was carted off the field against the Vikings with what was first reported as back spasms.
“He’s got a bruise,” Carroll confirmed Friday. “We thought it was back spasms, but it really was caused by landing on the ground. He’s still pretty sore, and he did not practice today.”
Linebacker Shaquem Griffin: Griffin, who injured his knee in the first preseason game, has yet to resume practice.
“He’s not making back this week,” Carroll said. “Not over the hump yet getting back. He’s working at it, but we’ll see, we’ll check him out. He’s really a day-to-day guy.”
The Seahawks and Chargers kick off at 7:00 p.m. PT Saturday night.
