Ziggy Ansah (shoulder) is inactive again, so his Seahawks debut will have to wait at least another week. Seattle's other inactives against Pittsburgh: safety Tedric Thompson, defensive tackle Poona Ford, cornerback Neiko Thorpe, receiver David Moore and Gary Jennings and center Joey Hunt.
The Seahawks left for Pittsburgh Friday afternoon, which is in keeping with their usual schedule for road travel. They'll fly out the day before games on the West Coast, Phoenix and Denver and two days ahead of time when playing in the Central or Eastern Time zones. Pete Carroll learned that plan from Bill Walsh, whose 49ers faced similarly long road trips when traveling across the country. According to the Seahawks, the'll travel the third-most miles in the NFL this season at 33,216. Ahead of them are the Raiders (40,188) and Rams (36,186).
Reading between the lines on what Pete Carroll has said this week about the Seahawks' safety situation, it seems that Lano Hill would get the nod over rookie second-round pick Marquise Blair if Tedric Thompson can't play Sunday at Pittsburgh. With Thompson (hamstring) listed as doubtful after missing all three practices this week, there's a good chance that Hill his third career start. Carroll said Hill is "back to full speed" after being slow to return from the hip injury that ended his 2018 season.
Pete Carroll said Tyler Lockett is fine after a brief bout with back spasms earlier this week, so he's expected to play Sunday at Pittsburgh. The Seahawks' receiver corps could get David Moore back as early as next week from the shoulder fracture he suffered last month. Carroll liked what he saw in practice this week from Moore, who was limited all three days. "He looked great," Carroll said. "He feels really good. Like we've said all along, he's going to feel better than the tests show. But the scans that he had this week really gave us a optimistic though that he has a chance next week."
Ziggy Ansah was a full participant in practice the last two days, but the Seahawks are listing him as questionable for Sunday at Pittsburgh. Ansah was also questionable before the opener and didn't play after feeling soreness in his surgically-repaired shoulder. "He's almost there," Pete Carroll said. "He may be there. We'll find out and see if we can get him to play this week. He's getting really close. If he doesn't go this week, he certainly has a great chance for next week." Fellow defensive end L.J. Collier, Seattle's first-round pick, is ready to play after missing the last six weeks with an ankle sprain. But Carroll wouldn't quite commit to him being active Sunday, saying: "L.J. is back. He's ready to play in this game. If we want to put him up, he can go. He had a great week. That's a real good return for him. He worked really hard. He maintained his conditioning through the rehab. He looked really well conditioned in the practice. It wasn't overburdening him at all. So in our mind he can play and we've just got to wait and see what the rotations would be if we put him up."
The Seahawks list Ziggy Ansah (shoulder) as questionable for Sunday's game at Pittsburgh. Ansah was questionable ahead of the opener and did not play, though Pete Carroll was confident at the start of this week that he would be available against the Steelers. Defensive tackle Poona Ford (calf) and free safety Tedric Thompson (hamstring) -- both starters -- are listed as doubtful as is cornerback Neiko Thorpe (hamstring), Seattle's special-teams captain. Lano Hill would presumably start for Thompson. Receiver David Moore (shoulder) and backup center Joey Hunt (ankle) have been ruled out.
Pete Carroll told KIRO Radio 97.3 FM that Tyler Lockett is "fine" and that he had a good practice Thursday after sitting out Wednesday (back). Carroll said it looks like Mike Iupati will make his Seahawks debut Sunday at Pittsburgh and that first-round pick L.J. Collier has a chance to as well. Carroll said earlier in the week that Iupati will start at left guard whenever he's ready.
With Tedric Thompson missing his second straight practice, it's looking more and more like Lano Hill could be the Seahawks' other starting safety next to Bradley McDougald Sunday in Pittsburgh. Mike Iupati, Ziggy Ansah and L.J. Collier were full participants Thursday, so they're trending in the right direction to make their debuts against the Steelers. Tyler Lockett was limited after sitting out Wednesday.
Russell Wilson called Ben Roethlisberger one of his favorite quarterbacks to play against and recalled their 2015 shootout in Seattle, when Roethlisberger threw for 456 yards in a 39-30 Seahawks win. Wilson went for 345 yards and five touchdowns despite being “sick as a dog” with the flu and needing three IVs during the game. “My stomach was all torn up,” Wilson said. “I remember I was throwing up and everything else, going No. 2 and not feeling very good – there's another way to say it, but -- so I wasn't feeling very good but I remember just him battling and us looking across the field and seeing one another and just [thinking] this is gonna be a good one. It went down to the wire. I love great players. I love watching great players. I love being on the field with great players and he's one of those guys, a hall of fame quarterback …”
Shaquill Griffin is down to 194 pounds after weighing around 212 this time last year. He noticed it in the Seahawks' opener, saying he felt fresh throughout the game. Pete Carroll said postgame that Griffin played as well as he ever has.
Heinz Field is one of only four opposing stadiums Russell Wilson has yet to play in since he entered the NFL in 2012. As such, he spent some time this week Googling images of the stadium to get a sense of what it looks like from field level and where the play clocks are located. "I'm practicing there already," he said.
Fresh off the most productive game of his NFL career, Quinton Jefferson gets to play in his hometown Sunday with the Seahawks facing the Steelers in Pittsburgh. Fellow Seahawks defensive end Branden Jackson is also from there. Those two knew each other growing up even though they attended different high schools -- or as Jefferson joked in the locker room Wednesday while Jackson was within earshot: "Yeah, he knew me. He knew I was the baller." Jefferson is from the suburb of Braddock about 12 miles east of Heinz Field. His high school, Woodland Hills, has produced a long list of NFL players including Rob Gronkowski, Jason Taylor and Steve Breaston.
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Seahawks defensive end L.J. Collier, the team's first-round pick, was listed as a limited participant Wednesday. Collier was limited all last week as he practiced for the first time since spraining his ankle early in training camp. Pete Carroll said Collier has a chance to play Sunday at Pittsburgh.
Tyler Lockett's status bears monitoring this week after the Seahawks listed him as a non-participant Wednesday, citing his back. There was no previous word on Lockett dealing with a back injury, so this appears to be new. The Seahawks are already down one receiver with David Moore recovering from a shoulder injury, but he returned to practice Wednesday as a limited participant. Free safety Tedric Thompson (hamstring) is another starter who didn't practice. That adds another layer to the question of whether Seattle should stick with him in the starting lineup after his struggles in the opener. Defensive ends Ziggy Ansah (shoulder), L.J. Collier (ankle) and Jadeveon Clowney (not injury-related) were limited. Clowney's NIR designation is a sign the Seahawks are still easing him into action given his long absence from football before he was traded to Seattle.
A win Sunday would be the 100th for Pete Carroll (99-60-1) as the Seahawks' coach, counting regular-season and playoff games. According to the Seahawks, that would make him the fifth active head coach to hit that mark with his current team. His counterpart this week, Mike Tomlin, is already on that list along with Bill Belichick, Sean Payton and John Harbaugh. Carroll and Tomlin are the fifth- and third-longest-tenured head coaches in the league, respectively. Carroll said of his longevity in Seattle: "I had no idea this would be what would happen ..."
Whenever Mike Iupati is ready to make his Seahawks debut, which could be as early as Sunday at Pittsburgh, he'll be their starting left guard. Ethan Pocic has been playing there with Iupati sidelined by foot and calf injuries, but Pete Carroll said it's Iupati's job. "We feel Mike has earned that, so he'll jump back in," Carroll said. "Ethan's done a great job filling in for quite a while now. We're really confident in him playing there, so it's a boost to us that we know we have a couple guys that can start. So really anxious to get Mike back in there. He's dying to play, so look forward to that." Iupati returned to practice last week.
Pete Carroll said defensive end L.J. Collier has a chance to play Sunday at Pittsburgh. The Seahawks' first-round pick missed all of the preseason and Seattle's opener due to an ankle injury he suffered early in training camp. He returned to practice last week. More injury updates from Carroll: Ziggy Ansah is practicing Wednesday. Poona Ford is not, as he's day-to-day with a calf strain. Ugo Amadi (shoulder) will be limited in practice Wednesday. Will Dissly (knee) is OK and practicing Wednesday. No word on the severity of Neiko Thorpe's hamstring injury.
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The Seahawks' signing of veteran cornerback Jamar Taylor is now official as it's listed on the NFL's transaction wire. The team waived cornerback Parry Nickerson to make room. Assuming he clears waivers, Nickerson is a candidate for the spot on the practice squad that's open with Washington signing cornerback Simeon Thomas. The Seahawks acquired Nickerson from the Jets for a conditional 2021 seventh rounder on cut-down day. Pete Carroll said last week that he wasn't up to speed in Seattle's defense enough to serve as the team's nickelback. Rookie Ugo Amadi filled that role against Cincinnati but suffered a shoulder injury. Hence, Seattle is bringing back Taylor, who competed for the nickelback job in training camp before being released on the cuts to 53.
The latest sentencing date for Seahawks linebacker Mychal Kendricks in his insider trading case is set for Nov. 21 after it was pushed back again, a spokesperson with the United States District Court's Eastern District of Pennsylvania tells ESPN. The new date is three days before the Seahawks' Sunday night game against the Eagles in Philadelphia. However, it's not uncommon for sentencing dates to be changed at the request of either the defense or the U.S. attorney. Kendricks' sentencing date has already been pushed back four times after being scheduled for Jan. 23, Jan. 25, April 4 and most recently Sept. 25. Kendricks' co-defendant in the case, Damilare Sonoiki, is still scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 30, the spokesperson said.
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Pete Carroll revealed that rookie defensive back Ugo Amadi has a shoulder injury from the Seahawks' opener, saying: "He got smacked pretty good ... So we've got to see how that goes." Amadi played nickelback Sunday, so his injury may be related to the team's expected move to bring back Jamar Taylor, who competed for that job over the summer. Carroll had no firm updates on cornerback Neiko Thorpe, defensive tackle Poona Ford or tight end Will Dissly, who all got hurt Sunday. "Neiko's got a hamstring that's got some concern to it," Carroll said. "There's something there. Poona's got a little calf thing with some concern. We'll have to see how that one goes. Dissly got banged on the knee. We'll see how he's going. Getting around pretty good today." Left guard Mike Iupati and defensive end L.J. Collier will practice this week and have a chance to play Sunday at Pittsburgh, Carroll said.
| RD(PK) | PLAYER | POS | SCHOOL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1(29) | L.J. Collier | DE | TCU |
| 2(15) | Marquise Blair | S | Utah |
| 2(32) | DK Metcalf | WR | Ole Miss |
| 3(24) | Cody Barton | OLB | Utah |
| 4(18) | Gary Jennings Jr. | WR | West Virginia |
| 4(22) | Phil Haynes | OG | Wake Forest |
| 4(30) | Ugochukwu Amadi | S | Oregon |
| 5(4) | Ben Burr-Kirven | ILB | Washington |
| 6(31) | Travis Homer | RB | Miami (FL) |
| 6(36) | Demarcus Christmas | DT | Florida State |
| 7(22) | John Ursua | WR | Hawai'i' |
| TEAM | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 31 | 17 |
| Los Angeles | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 30 | 27 |
| Seattle | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 21 | 20 |
| Arizona | 0 | 0 | 1 | .500 | 27 | 27 |
