Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald releases latest on two injured linemen

The Seattle Seahawks have now won their fourth consecutive game on Sunday. They had a strong 44-22 home win over the Arizona Cardinals, making their ninth in a row against their NFC West divisional rival. The Seahawks didn’t have the perfect dominating performance, especially in the third quarter, but there were great moments from all phases of the game.

Seattle remains the team to beat after another dominating performance against Arizona, mostly in the first half. The Seahawks accumulated 372 total yards against the Cardinals’ defense, with 198 of them coming from the run game. This game was the best running game from the Seahawks this season.

Most of the offensive linemen for the Seahawks had their best performances of the season. There are great signs that the offense is finally developing into a well-balanced offense. There are some concerns moving forward involving a key member of the offensive line.

Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald gave an update on center Jalen Sundell, who went down with a lower leg injury in the third quarter. Macdonald said he wasn’t aware of the severity of Sundell’s knee injury, but it appears not to be a season-ending injury.

Sundell hasn’t been the best center in the league, but he has been a short-term answer playing under a one-year contract this season. Through the first eight games of the season, Sundell has accounted for an overall grade of 61, which is 22nd among 34 qualified centers in the league.

The Seahawks had Olusegun Oluwatimi take over the snapping duties for the rest of the game versus the Cardinals. His performance started on a rough note when he mishandled the snap to quarterback Sam Darnold, resulting in the first of three turnovers.

Outside of a bad snap, Oluwatimi had a good game for the Seahawks. Pro Football Focus graded him with an overall grade of 80.2, which is the fourth-highest offensive player in the game and the third-highest for the Seahawks. Oluwaitimi will likely be the starting center for the Seahawks moving forward.

Defensive tackle Jarred Reed has been quietly dealing with a hand and wrist injury since the Seahawks’ Week 7 win over the Houston Texans. Macdonald said after the game that Reed had surgery on his hand/wrist after a setback while preparing for the game against the Cardinals. While Reed thought he could play, imaging results led him to go on IR.

Reed’s absence left a big hole in the middle of the defensive line and in the game plan for the Seahawks. He would be the three-technique defensive tackle or a two-technique defender in four linemen fronts. Seattle had to get Brandon Pili to play Reed’s role on the fearsome Seattle defensive front.

The Seahawks don’t have time to panic or wait for them to come back within the next few weeks. While their schedule isn’t brutal, the Seahawks have one more game against the San Francisco 49ers and two against the Los Angeles Rams, including a road game in Week 11.

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