SEATTLE — Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson traveled to Los Angeles on Friday to see a hand specialist and get a diagnosis on the finger injury he suffered Thursday night against the Rams, and it’s not clear yet how long he may be out, coach Pete Carroll said.
An NFL Network report stated Wilson could have mallet finger, or a sprained joint in the middle finger of his right hand, an injury often estimated to need up to 6-8 weeks from which to recover in part because it would require a splint to keep stable.
Carroll said that could be a correct diagnosis but added it was too early to say anything definitive. He said results could be known Friday afternoon.
Carroll said during his Friday morning meeting with the media that Wilson had X-rays taken on the finger after Seattle’s 26-17 loss to the Rams but added “they are going to all of that again today” to make a proper determination.
Carroll added, “I’m going to really try to not talk about the details of it, because I don’t know. I mean, I heard a lot of stuff, but I’m passing information along improperly if I do, so just let’s just wait and we’ll know a lot more by the end of the day.
“ … but there’s something going on. There’s definitely something going on, and we’ve got to figure out what the extent of it is and what is the next step to deal with.”
Carroll did not rule out surgery.
Wilson was injured when his hand hit the arm of Los Angeles defensive tackle Aaron Donald while finishing a pass attempt to Tyler Lockett in the third quarter.
Wilson played one more play in that series and then one more series — which lasted three plays — before coming out of the game.
Carroll noted that the middle finger is critical for a quarterback, and that after Wilson played the four more snaps, as well as throwing a number of passes on the sideline, he simply realized he could not throw the ball the way he needed to continue.
“Nobody should question his toughness,” Carroll said. “Nobody should question his resolve. He’d have gone in if he could have thrown the football and held on to it — he would have done it, and anybody that says otherwise doesn’t know what they’re talking about. You can deal with all kinds of stuff in your hands and you can still throw the football, and he tried last night and did not have the power and the control of the ball.
“So I think if he could have he would have. Let’s be really clear about that. There’s no doubt. There’s nobody out there that can challenge his will and his desire and his toughness about carrying on last night.”
Wilson has not missed a start in his NFL career, with Thursday night being his 149th consecutive start since the opener of his rookie season in 2012. That gives Wilson the sixth-longest streak of consecutive starts in NFL history — Brett Favre holds the record with 297. It’s the longest active streak by a QB, far ahead of the 80 of Tom Brady.
Wilson has also rarely even missed a play — the previous time he’d missed a snap because of injury was in a 2017 game at Arizona, when he missed one snap to be examined for a concussion.
Wilson played through a knee injury and ankle injury in 2016 to start every game and played every snap in 2018 and 2019. In 2020 he played every snap other than the final 18 of a blowout win over the Jets.
Wilson was replaced Thursday by nine-year veteran Geno Smith, a former starter with the New York Jets, and Smith will take over if Wilson can’t play Oct. 17 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Seattle also has Jake Luton on the practice squad and could sign him to the 53-man roster as depth.
Smith completed 10 of 17 passes for 131 yards in playing 25 snaps against the Rams, including all five attempts in leading a 98-yard TD drive on his first possession, which he capped with a 23-yard touchdown pass to DK Metcalf. Smith threw an interception when Seattle got the ball back with 2:09 left and the Seahawks trailing 23-17 on a play in which intended receiver Tyler Lockett was bumped by Rams safety Jordan Fuller and fell to the ground.
Smith, drafted 39th overall by the Jets in 2013 out of West Virginia, has been with Seattle since 2019 but played only in mop-up duty against the Jets last year before filling in against the Rams.
But he has 31 career starts — 29 with the Jets in 2013 and 2014 — and Carroll says he has full confidence in the 31-year-old to lead the Seahawks for as long as Wilson may be out.
“I thought Geno did a marvelous job last night,” Carroll said. “Geno has been practicing with us for all this time waiting for his opportunity if called upon, and the patience that he’s shown with us and to stay with it and, his relationship with Russ and the coaches, he’s been impeccable. And then when he went out he executed like he can.”
Seattle brought in Sean Mannion and Alex McGough in the preseason to compete for the backup job. But Smith solidified his hold on the job in a 27-0 win over the Chargers in the preseason finale when he completed 11 of 15 passes for 90 yards.
Carroll said Smith has “got that makeup” to be a good backup in not getting frustrated over not playing and continuing to prepare for games.
“It’s not the makeup that Geno would like to be proud about — ‘I’m really good at backing up’ — because everyone wants to be a great starter,” Carroll said. “And I’ve always talked to him like that, that he is (a great starter), and that’s what he will be when the time comes. And so now he’s going to get a chance and we are thrilled for him.”
As for Wilson, Carroll said he had spoken to him about a half-dozen times over night and into the morning and that Wilson had the same attitude as always about the injury and getting better.
“This is Russ at his finest in terms of competitiveness,” Carroll said. “He’s doing everything possible to be ready to take advantage of whatever is available to him. He’s tuned in, he’s focused, he was up all-night working, and he’s already flying out of here to go see the doctor. Everything that has been done has been as efficient and fast as possible. It’s looking ahead, that’s how we are talking about it, and I know he will maximize whatever the time frame is. He’s going to do a fantastic job of whatever he is up against.”
