Damien Lewis, 4 Other Seahawks Ruled Out For Monday Night Football vs. Washington
Gearing up for a Monday Night Football clash at FedEx Field against the Washington Football Team, the Seahawks will be short-handed in the backfield and in the trenches offensively.
After missing practice time this week with an elbow injury, starting left guard Damien Lewis will sit out his second game of the season. The second-year blocker out of LSU also missed a Week 7 loss to the Saints with a shoulder issue and was replaced in the lineup by Jamarco Jones.
"He hyperextended it in the ball game and was able to play with it," coach Pete Carroll said following Friday's practice. "But it’s just really sore, so we are giving him a break on that to get him back and get him to full speed.”
Unfortunately, Jones won't be available to step in for Lewis this time around in Landover, as the versatile fourth-year lineman will miss a second consecutive game due to a lingering back injury. Per Carroll, there's a chance he could land on injured reserve for the third time in his NFL career.
“He’s had a back issue on and off for some time. It flared back up again when he landed kind of funny a week ago and it hasn’t loosened up for him, so he’s dealing with spasms that seems to be more than that. It’s more than muscle spasms, so we are working with him to try to get him back and get him right. He’s had a hard time staying healthy, I feel terrible for him. He’s been in and out for some time now. He’s done well when he’s had his chance to play, but he hasn’t been able to get over this yet, so we will take a little more time to get that done.”
Without Lewis or Jones dressing, Seattle will likely have to turn to third-year guard Phil Haynes, a former fourth-round pick out of Wake Forest who has only played in two regular season games over the past two-plus seasons. Though the move has yet to be announced yet, the team placed a protection on him earlier this week and he should be elevated to the roster from the practice squad with a chance to make his first NFL start versus Washington.
Along with having significant depth concerns along the offensive line, the Seahawks will also be without running backs Rashaad Penny and Travis Homer, who each missed practice this week with hamstring and calf injuries respectively. Already minus Chris Carson, who will undergo season-ending neck surgery, only veteran Alex Collins and second-year runner DeeJay Dallas remain healthy on the active roster.
Penny received his first career start in a 23-13 loss to Arizona last week, only to exit after tweaking his hamstring on an 18-yard run on the first play of the game. He returned to log a second carry in the second half, but the former first-round pick once again failed to stay healthy and Carroll indicated a second visit to injured reserve could be in his future, which would end his 2021 season.
As for Homer, the severity of his injury remains unknown. But the third-year back out of Miami missed all of training camp in August on the PUP list with a calf injury and Carroll told reporters this latest injury wasn't related.
With just two healthy backs available, undrafted rookie Josh Johnson could be in line for a practice squad elevation to make his NFL regular season debut for Seattle. The ex-Louisiana Monroe star enjoyed a strong preseason in August, but due to the depth in front of him, he was waived as part of final roster cuts before being brought back on the 16-player practice roster.
If there's good injury news for the Seahawks, veteran cornerback D.J. Reed did not receive an injury designation on Friday's final report after missing last week's loss with groin and knee injuries. That's an especially important development for the secondary after promising rookie Tre Brown underwent season-ending surgery to repair a patellar tendon rupture earlier this week.
After being limited in practices earlier this week, Seattle will also have the services of starting right tackle Brandon Shell and linebacker Jordyn Brooks in Washington on Monday. Shell has been nursing a sore shoulder for the past few weeks, while Brooks tweaked his hip in last week's loss to Arizona and finished out the game.
