The Seahawks are heading into Sunday’s matchup with the Cardinals carrying a long injury list and a few major questions that could shape the game before it even gets rolling. Seattle has dropped three of its last four and is trying to get to its bye week on November 22 with enough left in the tank to survive the stretch. Instead, the Seahawks are dealing with seven players ruled out for the Cardinals game and a lineup that’s about to look very different in a few key spots.
Head coach Mike Macdonald laid out the latest injury picture Friday, and the list was long enough to force real changes. “ Charles (Cross) is going to be out.
We know Sam (Darnold) is out. Quenton (Nelson) is going to be out.
We’re going to get to a minor procedure. He’s week to week at this point.
We’re not going to put him on injured reserve. So, we’ll go from there.
But there’s a timeline right now that warrants not IR,’ said Macdonald.” So, that’s what we’re going to do.
Chenna (Uchenna Nwosu) will be out. Connor O’Toole is questionable.
Brandon Pili will be out. Rashid Shaheed will be out.
And Leo (Leonard Williams) will be out. So, there’s your update.”
That injury fallout hits hardest up front. With Quenton Nelson and Charles Cross both unavailable, Seattle’s offensive line is getting shuffled again.
Cross has already missed the last two games, while Nelson started and finished the Chicago Bears game. Grey Zabel is set to slide back to left guard, and Anthony Bradford will start at right guard after moving aside for Zabel when Nelson arrived.
Josh Jones will make his second straight start at left tackle, while center Jaen Sundel and right tackle Abraham Lucas are the only two linemen who have started at their current spots in each of the last two games.
That matters because the Seahawks need cleaner football on early downs. Arizona’s defense comes in ranked 21st overall, and the Cardinals are 19th against the run and 15th against the pass.
If Seattle can get the ground game moving and avoid obvious passing situations, it can stay out of the third-and-long traps that have hurt it. Against the Bears, the Seahawks were just 1-11 on third down.
At quarterback, Drew Lock is still the guy, even with an elbow issue that limited him in practice all week. Macdonald named him the starter earlier in the week and confirmed it again Friday.
“He’s done a great job. And Jalen Milroe has done a great job as well.
So, it’s been a tag team effort to get ready,’ said Macdonald. I thought both guys- I’ve loved their attitude, the details, all those things- and they’re in a good spot.
Drew’s going to start the game.”
Lock has been inactive for the last two games, with Milroe serving as the backup and not taking a snap in either one. This week, though, Milroe got some first-team work in practice.
Macdonald liked what he saw. “He hasn’t taken a lot of reps with the ones, so to see him do that and operate the offense has been impressive.
He’s been working hard, and he’ll be ready to go if we need him, said Macdonald.
Seattle’s defense will also be tested in a different way. The Seahawks are ranked No. 1 in the league, but they’ll be missing two important pieces in Leonard Williams and Uchenna Nwosu. That leaves a defense already shorthanded trying to slow a Cardinals offense that ranks 16th overall, one spot ahead of Seattle.
The Cardinals’ run game is led by Tyler Allgeier, and it sits 19th in the league at 122 yards per game. Arizona is also turning to Gardner Minshew for his first start of the season after he replaced Jacoby Brissett in the Cardinals’ overtime win over the Dallas Cowboys. With Minshew making his first start in this offense, Seattle doesn’t have much to study from him in that role.
Macdonald said the challenge is figuring out what Arizona wants to be early and adjusting on the fly. “ They were in a comeback mode last week, so it’s hard to tell on how they’re going to operate on early downs.
The best you can do is to go off the tape that you’ve seen and the way that you feel like you’ve been attacked from other teams and try to project that,’ said Macdonald .” Just like every week, we have to do a great job as a staff at understanding how we feel like they’re trying to build their attack against us and being able to adjust throughout the game.”
In Other News...
Matthew Stafford Update Should Have Rams Fans Paying Attention
Matthew Staffords latest arm soreness report is the kind of update that gets attention across the NFC West, even if it does not amount to a major alarm just yet. For the Rams, any issue involving their veteran quarterback is worth monitoring closely, especially with the division already dealing with its own share of uncertainty and roster stress.
Seattle has its own problems to sort through, from an offensive line that has been under the microscope to Sam Darnolds admission that his decision-making slipped in a recent game. So while the Seahawks are focused on cleaning up their own operation, Staffords status is another reminder that the race in this division can tilt quickly if one contenders quarterback situation takes a turn. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Face One Big Test To Hold Serve Against Arizona
The Seahawks head into Week 9 with a familiar kind of pressure attached to a division matchup, the sort that can shape how a season feels long before the calendar turns. Seattle gets Arizona next, and the conversation around the game has centered on predictions, betting odds and whether the Seahawks can take care of business at home against a Cardinals team that always seems to make these meetings a little less straightforward than they look on paper.
Around the matchup, the focus has been on how contributors see the game playing out and what it says about both teams right now, from Seattles performance trends to the health of key players on both sides. BetMGMs odds have added another layer to the discussion, but the real intrigue is simpler than the numbers: if the Seahawks want to keep control of their own path in the NFC West, this is the kind of game they need to handle cleanly. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Face A Painful Trade Deadline Reality As Injuries Mount
The Seahawks have spent the first half of the season trying to patch together a roster that keeps taking hits, and the latest blow only adds to the pressure around a 4-4 team trying to stay in the NFC race. Sam Darnold is expected to miss several games, and the offensive line issue got even more complicated after Seattles recent move to bring in left guard Quenton Nelson, who has since dealt with a knee injury that required a minor procedure.
With the November 10 trade deadline approaching, the more likely path now appears to be restraint rather than another splashy move. John Schneider is expected to stand pat, choosing to keep building around a young core while also considering a longer-term commitment for Nelson once the dust settles. [Read more 🡒]