Engram out with injury

KIRKLAND, Wash. – Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Bobby Engram will miss six to eight weeks with a cracked bone in his right shoulder sustained on the first play of Friday’s preseason game against Minnesota, adding to the injuries on offense for the defending four-time NFC West champions.

“It was a freak deal,” coach Mike Holmgren said Monday, adding Engram remained in the game.

Holmgren said the worst case for Engram would be missing three regular-season games and returning for facing the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants on Oct. 5.

The 35-year-old Engram set a franchise record last season with 94 catches then skipped Seattle’s offseason minicamps while in a dispute over a contract that expires after this season. The Seahawks are refusing to negotiate a deal beyond the one paying him $1.7 million this season.

The offense was also missing Pro Bowl quarterback Matt Hasselbeck on Monday, for the second consecutive day. He has a stiff back that first tightened while he played two series against the Vikings.

“He tweaked it a little bit in the game, did something,” Holmgren said. “He’s taking it easy, taking a couple of days.”

When asked if Hasselbeck might miss Saturday’s preseason game against Chicago, the coach said, “I suppose there’s a chance, but we haven’t even talked about it yet.”

Hasselbeck and Engram arrived together in Seattle in 2001.

“Bobby is a very important part of what we do offensively,” Holmgren said. “The young-ins have to step up and play, we’ve said that already. And now they just have to do it for a while.”

Those kids include second-year man Courtney Taylor, who is taking Engram’s spot, plus third-year veteran Ben Obomanu, undrafted free agent Michael Bumpus from Washington State and former practice squad player Logan Payne.

Tubbs terminated

The Seahawks terminated the contract of former first-round draft choice Marcus Tubbs. The former starting defensive tackle kept having setbacks following surgery a year ago on his right knee.

Tubbs’ departure follows in the footsteps of some ex-Seahawks draft choices whose careers were cut short by injury. Tubbs was officially placed on something called the Terminated/Failed Physical List after suffering another setback in his rehabilitation from multiple knee surgeries.

“He hit the (blocking pad), and his knee puffed up a little bit,” Holmgren said. “Not totally unexpected, but we were kind of hoping for a little bit better at this point.”

Tubbs effectively becomes a free agent, as his current contract was terminated.The 27-year-old Tubbs never played a full season in his four years with the Seahawks. After being selected with the 23rd overall pick in the 2004 NFL draft, Tubbs struggled to stay on the field. He missed 27 of a possible 64 games during his career, including the entire 2007 season.

First pick ready to go

Rookie Lawrence Jackson showed up for training camp as a backup defensive end who hoped to get a chance to battle for a starting position.

Two weeks into camp, he’s already made some headway. The Seahawks’ first-round pick has been working with the No. 1 offense this week.

“It was surprising to an extent,” he said of his reaction to the news that he would play right end with the first team. “As a competitor, I felt like I showed them what I can do. That’s my job. It’s (the coaches’) job to make decisions. Nothing is etched in stone.”

Jackson made a good case for the starting job in Friday’s preseason opener, while playing mostly against Minnesota’s backups. Defensive coordinator John Marshall said earlier this week that the coaches moved Jackson up because they wanted to get a look at him against starting offensive linemen. The Seahawks host the Chicago Bears on Saturday, at which time Jackson is likely to work with the No. 1 defense.