Seahawks Closer to Full Strength For Week 16 Matchup vs. Bears

While Seattle only had five days between games coming off Tuesday's loss in Los Angeles, the team only had two players on its final Week 16 injury report while also activating Travis Homer off the COVID-19/reserve list.

Despite dealing with an abbreviated week coming off of a loss to the Rams on Tuesday night, the Seahawks have bounced back nicely on the injury front and should be near full strength for Sunday's game against the Bears.

Headlining a small final injury report on Friday, Seattle ruled out rookie linebacker Jon Rhattigan, who exited Tuesday's game with an ACL injury in his knee suffered while covering a kickoff. Coach Pete Carroll didn't have an update on the severity of the injury on Friday, but he will miss at least this week, if not longer.

Cornerback Bless Austin, who didn't practice on Thursday due to a hip injury and personal reasons designation, has been listed as questionable to play against the Bears and will be a game-time decision. The former Rutgers standout started in place of D.J. Reed, who landed on the COVID-19/reserve list last weekend, briefly exited with an injury before returning to action in the second half.

"He's got a hip pointer that he's dealing with and we'll see how that goes," Carroll said. "That's the kind of thing you gotta rest up all the way until game day and we'll see what happens when we get close."

With Reed yet to come off the COVID-19/reserve list, John Reid would be next in line to start across from Sidney Jones if Austin can't suit up. The second-year cornerback saw his first extensive action filling in on Tuesday, playing 17 defensive snaps and recording a single tackle.

Along the offensive line, Jamarco Jones returned to practice from injured reserve and "looked good" per Carroll, though the coach made it sound unlikely he would be activated for Sunday's game.

"He waited long enough to return to go back to action , went right back in there," Carroll said of Jones. "He didn't get extended action, but he looks fine and it looks like he's getting close - if we needed him, he looks like he could probably play - that would be rushing it . We'd like to wait another week, but we'll see what happens here."

While Reed, tight end Will Dissly, defensive end Kerry Hyder, defensive tackle Bryan Mone, and tackle Brandon Shell all remain sidelined with COVID, Seattle did activate running back Travis Homer on Friday. Earlier this week, the team also activated star receiver Tyler Lockett and running back Alex Collins, who were the first players to land on the reserve list last Thursday.

According to Carroll, Lockett returned to practice without missing a beat and "kicked right back into gear," while Collins also has looked good and will be available to help in the backfield against Chicago.

The Seahawks will be able to activate remaining players on the COVID-19 list through game day with new protocols, a change Carroll believes was instituted last week to ensure both teams had enough players on Tuesday night.