Seattle Seahawks fans received some good news and bad news on the status of some key injured players on Tuesday when general manager John Schneider spoke to the media. But before we get to the bad news, let’s start with the good part. Edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu will not be placed on the injured list and will miss the first four games of the season.
That means the Seahawks expect Nwosu to only miss a game or two. The edge rusher is one of the most important parts of Seattle’s defense. He was also injured in Week 7 of 2023 and was forced to sit out the rest of the season. Without Nwosu, the Seahawks’ run defense also seemed to sit out the rest of the season. The team ranked 31st in the running game last season.
The bad part came when Schneider said right tackle Abraham Lucas certainly won’t be ready by Week 1. Or, well…maybe not even by Week 10. There’s no timetable for when the right tackle can play. Schneider said he expects Lucas to play at some point this year. The general manager wants to do what’s best for the player, he said.
That’s admirable, of course. And it would be a mistake to force Lucas to play before he’s really ready. His tender knee might not always hold up anyway, but if he’s not 100 percent fit, his presence on the field will only hurt the team.
Seattle signed free agent George Fant this season to replace Lucas, but likely with the idea that Fant would have to play a lot of snaps. When Fant does have to play, he’s a solid offensive tackle who’s a little better at pass protection than run blocking.
However, Lucas showed as a rookie in 2022 that he can be great in both areas. He, along with left tackle Charles Cross, seemed to be the mainstay of Seattle’s offensive line for the better part of the next decade. Cross has been decent so far, but not great. Lucas has seen less and less of the field.
The biggest problem is that Lucas and Seattle are running out of time. He’s only under contract through 2025. Assuming he misses part of 2024 and hopes he can play most of 2025 — which is certainly a big leap of faith — that would mean the Seahawks only got about two seasons out of Lucas. That wouldn’t inspire much confidence that Lucas is a long-term option at right tackle.
In other injury news, Schneider also said he wasn’t sure if free agent signings Connor Williams and Rayshawn Jenkins would be available in Week 1. If not, the 12s should expect Olu Oluwatimi to start at center and K’Von Wallace to start as Jenkins’ safety.
