Jamal Adams Ruled Out vs. Vikings, Quinton Dunbar Hoping to Play

Still battling through a groin injury, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll has already declared safety Jamal Adams out against the Vikings for Sunday.

Adams, who originally tweaked his groin during the fourth quarter of a Week 3 victory over Dallas, sat out last week's game and didn't travel with the team to Miami. Through his first three games with Seattle, the versatile playmaker had produced 23 tackles, 2.0 sacks, five quarterback hits, and a pass defensed.

With the bye week coming up in Week 6, Seattle clearly intends to give Adams the next couple of weeks to ensure he's healthy with hopes he can return in time for a critical NFC West opener against Arizona later this month.

"Jamal's still gonna be another week away, unfortunately," Carroll told reporters on Wednesday. "He's not gonna make it back."

While Adams won't return this week and Ryan Neal will start in his place for the second consecutive game, the Seahawks could be closer to full strength in the secondary with the impending return of cornerback Quinton Dunbar.

After missing the past two games with an undisclosed knee issue, Carroll indicated Dunbar participated in Wednesday's walkthrough session and will practice in some capacity on Thursday. If he's able to get through the week without any setbacks, he should have an excellent chance to start against a talented Minnesota offense featuring receivers Adam Thielen and rookie sensation Justin Jefferson.

"We'll see how that fits for him coming back," Carroll said. "He's determined to try to get back for this ball game, so we'll see what happens there."

In other injury news, Seattle placed veteran cornerback Neiko Thorpe on injured reserve with what Carroll termed "athletic hernia symptoms." After missing the past two games, he hasn't turned the corner and it remains unclear when he may be able to return.

From a positive standpoint, receiver Phillip Dorsett and defensive end Rasheem Green, who are currently on injured reserve, each have a chance to be activated as soon as after the Seahawks upcoming bye week.

Dealing with a sore foot since the middle of training camp, Dorsett tried to return in time for Week 2 against the Patriots. But he wasn't able to improve enough to play and the team decided to shut him down for three weeks hoping to expedite the healing process.

As for Green, he suffered a stinger in the season opener against the Falcons and after sitting out a game, he didn't show enough progress to return to play either. While Carroll said he has "a couple things he needs to get done," he sounded encouraged by his chances of returning in Week 7.

"He's working great and all the reports [say] that's likely to happen."

In the meantime, Seattle poached defensive end Jonathan Bullard off Arizona's practice squad. The former third-round pick out of Florida should provide the team another big-bodied end who can rotate with L.J. Collier at the 5-tech spot until Green returns down the road.