Hasselbeck joins practice

RENTON, Wash. – After sitting out two weeks’ worth of practice and a pair of games, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was back on the field Wednesday and could play Sunday.

However Walter Jones, another of the Seahawks’ most important players, will be out at least until the bye week, Seahawks coach Jim Mora said.

Hasselbeck, who has been out since fracturing a rib in Seattle’s Week 2 loss in San Francisco, split reps with Seneca Wallace and made it through practice without a setback.

“It felt OK,” Hasselbeck said. “It felt OK. Probably better than I expected. I don’t know how it looked, but it was manageable today.”

Hasselbeck’s status for Sunday’s home game against Jacksonville – an important game for a team on a three-game losing streak – is still undecided, but he and his coaches came away from practice feeling good.

“For a first day back, he did a good job,” offensive coordinator Greg Knapp said. “We split the reps between him and Seneca throughout the practice. … His energy was excellent, I thought, for a guy that hasn’t practice in a couple of weeks.”

Asked if Hasselbeck looked like he was in pain during practice, Knapp said no.

Hasselbeck admitted that he had a bit of a setback Monday, saying that day felt worse than any since he suffered the injury, but said he felt good after returning to practice.

Hasselbeck isn’t sure if he’ll be ready to play.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I want to be fair to the team.”

In addition to returning to the practice field, Hasselbeck also showed that the injury hasn’t affected his sense of humor. During his press conference, he was asked if he’ll wear some sort of protection for his ribs if he does play.

“Well, I was wearing rib pads when I got hurt, so those are going in the trash,” he said. “I’m going with a new company. It’s down to two. Maybe (I’ll get an endorsement deal). Call me. Yeah, so we’ll see. That’s one of the things that we’re trying out – not at practice, but inside, the equipment managers have laid out all the options for me.”

As for Jones, the man who has protected Hasselbeck’s blind side for most of the QB’s career, Mora said the left tackle will continue to sit out practice until after the bye week to rest a sore knee.

Jones, has had two operations on his left knee since December.