Early absence in practice likely means one key Seahawk remains out vs Panthers

The Seattle Seahawks have had a wild schedule over the last few weeks. After defeating the Indianapolis Colts at home in Week 15, Seattle had to quickly prepare for the Los Angeles Rams four days later on Thursday Night Football.

After the tremendous 38-37 overtime win at home, the Seahawks had an extra set of days to heal up and prepare for the Week 17 road game at the Carolina Panthers. All this with Christmas sandwiched in between Week 16 and Week 17.

As a result, the Seahawks opted to practice on Tuesday in preparation for the Panthers so they can have Christmas Day off on Thursday. The league didn’t force the teams on Tuesday to release injury reports, which is why Seattle didn’t. There was one noticeable absence from practice, according to Tacoma News Tribune’s Greg Bell.

Pro Bowl QB Sam Darnold and #Seahawks begin a rare Tuesday practice for game Sunday at Carolina. Different schedule this week with Christmas off Thursday. No injury report required by NFL until after practice tomorrow.

Didn’t see injured LT Charles Cross, among others. pic.twitter.com/OEfnhKnkhl
December 24, 2025
Starting left tackle Charles Cross wasn’t on the field for the Seahawks in practice, likely as a result of his injured hamstring. This likely means that Cross will remain out for Week 17 and, possibly, Week 18 on the road against the San Francisco 49ers. There isn’t a reason to believe that Cross’s hamstring injury is severe enough to be put on IR.
NFL insider Ian Rapoport’s initial report said that Cross would likely be out 2-to-4 weeks, but there hasn’t been a lot of clarification as to the potential return or the severity. This means that Josh Jones will likely be the starting left tackle for the second consecutive week.
The Seahawks’ offensive line had a tough battle against one of the most talented defenses in the league, the Rams. Seattle’s offensive line gave up four sacks, three tackles for loss, and seven quarterback hits (according to ESPN). Some of the Seahawks linemen were able to rebound and play better, but Jones was the positive outlier.
Jones was given a pass-blocking grade of 78.5 and a run-blocking grade of 70.4. No other offensive linemen had both performances graded above a 60, while some had performances graded in the 40s. Jones did well suppressing some powerful edge rushers and defensive tackle Kobie Turner at times.
Jones will look to continue his solid performance on Sunday as the Seahawks take on the Panthers (8-7). The Panthers are coming into this game with one of the least effective pass-rushing units, as they rank 31st in the league in pressure percentage at 15.4%.
As long as Jones plays like he did versus the Rams in the final two games of the season, including the Panthers, he should hold things down until Cross is healthy. The rest of the Seahawks’ offensive line should catch a break playing a less tenacious pass rush than they have been facing since Week 11.
More Seahawks on SI stories
Seattle Seahawks restored to glory in latest NFL power rankings
DK Metcalf reminds everyone why the Seahawks had to move on
Seahawks’ stunning comeback changes the math in NFC West
How the Panthers’ win affects matchup with Seahawks Week 17