Seahawks in ‘Pretty Good Shape,’ Nearing Full Strength to Face 49ers

Typically, two days before the Seahawks take the field for games, coach Pete Carroll fields a plethora of questions from reporters in regard to the health of specific players. But closing in on Monday’s matchup against the 49ers, he wasn’t having any of it.

“One thing I can tell you, we can’t talk about hamstrings and ankles today because we’re in pretty good shape here.” Carroll said. “Only a couple guys on the list. We can cut all that stuff out and just go right to whatever you want to know.”

It was quite a departure from Friday’s injury report when Seattle had left tackle Duane Brown and defensive end Jadeveon Clowney sitting out for a second consecutive practice and eight players participated in limited fashion. Though three days remained until kickoff, there was some doubt about the availability of several key starters.

Fast forwarding 24 hours later, however, the Seahawks listed only safety Lano Hill and rookie guard Phil Haynes as questionable with the entire rest of the roster removed from the week’s final injury listing.

Though both players were still limited in Saturday’s practice session, Brown (bicep/knee) and Clowney (toe/knee) will suit up against the undefeated 49ers. Center Joey Hunt, who missed one practice earlier in the week with a hip issue, will also be ready to go after being upgraded to a full participant on Saturday.

While Carroll wouldn’t confirm whether or not he’d play after just joining the team off waivers, he indicated receiver Josh Gordon had a “good chance” to make his Seahawks debut and applauded him for an excellent first week of practice with his new team.

“He did really well. He was very impressive in terms of picking stuff up, studying overtime. He fit in really well. He’s a really good athlete. You can really tell that he’s got a lot of potential to be a big-time player. It was fun seeing him on the practice field. Did a nice job.”

Seattle should also finally get to see safety Quandre Diggs, who was acquired from Detroit in October, play in his first game with the team. After sitting out the past two weeks nursing a lingering hamstring injury, he was a full participant in practice this week and should see significant snaps against San Francisco.

According to Carroll, Diggs has a full grasp of the playbook and after making through the week without any setbacks, he won’t have any limitations on Monday.

“He’s had three weeks of preparation and he’s been in on everything. He’s been around with all the walk throughs and all that stuff. He studies really well. Football totally makes sense to him. It’s not a mystery at all. He’s ready to play. We will not be restricting him in any way.”

Among other notable injury news, tight end Luke Willson (ribs) and defensive tackle Quinton Jefferson (oblique) were full participants on Saturday and also exited the final injury report. Willson may have suffered a fractured rib against the Buccaneers last Sunday, while Jefferson has missed the past two games.