The Seahawks could be opening the regular season without one of their projected start starting offensive lineman. Guard Mike Iupati, who Seattle signed as a free agent this offseason, is still on the mend from a couple of injuries he’s battled over the summer.
“Mike’s competing for it,” coach Pete Carroll said Monday when asked about the lineman’s outlook for Week 1 against the Bengals. “He’s going for it; we’ll see what happens. If you talk to Mike, he’s going to say he’s going to get ready to go, so we’ll see what that means. We need to be careful, we need to make sure we get him back and keep him back, so we’ll figure it out.”
Iupati was initially sidelined with a sore foot but it’s been another injury that has hindered his return and kept him out of the preseason action.
“It’s really the calf what we are waiting on,” Carroll continued. “We have been slow in the process with his foot to make sure that that was returned, and it looks like that’s fine. Now it’s just figuring out if he can withstand really how long he can stay out there and work on it. He can do most of everything right now, but we’ve got ensure that he can stay out there and sustain through the game.”
Should Iupati be unable to go Sunday at CenturyLink Field, Ethan Pocic is slated to get the start at left guard.
