Seahawks hold a casting call

KIRKLAND — Taco Wallace, Jerheme Urban and Jason Willis didn’t bring their headshots to work this week.

No resumes, no leg warmers, no braggadocio about the days when they starred in the high school musical.

Other than that, it sure felt like a week of open auditions.

“This is a big moment,” Willis said with such a gleam in his eye that the American Idol cameras couldn’t have been far away. “We really have to bring our A-game.”

What the three young receivers coveted wasn’t so much a shot at fame as a rare opportunity to suit up on Sunday. With four key receivers hobbled by injuries, the Seattle Seahawks spent this week auditioning temporary replacements.

“I’m ready,” said Wallace, who is currently on Seattle’s practice squad along with Urban and Willis. “It’s something I’ve been waiting on for a while.”

For the past two days, the Seahawks’ trio of practice squad receivers have had plenty of opportunities to showcase themselves while injured teammates heal. Alex Bannister is out for eight weeks with a broken collarbone, rookie D.J. Hackett has a sore hip, and Darrell Jackson, Bobby Engram and Jerry Rice are nursing sore ankles. Only Rice practiced Thursday, and he expects to play Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.

Rice, Koren Robinson and the three practice squaders were the only receivers available for Thursday’s practice. Even third-string quarterback Seneca Wallace got in on the action, catching a few passes with the scout team and proclaiming himself ready to play receiver if called upon.

The Seahawks are likely to place Bannister on injured reserve today or Saturday, at which time they’ll add at least one of the practice squad receivers to the roster. The coaching staff has given all three equal time this week in an effort to let them win a roster spot.

Perhaps the most eye-opening performance at Thursday’s practice came from Seneca Wallace, the quarterback. He typically watches from the sideline while Hasselbeck and Trent Dilfer take all the practice snaps, so Thursday provided him a rare chance to actually touch the football.

“I know we’re short at receiver, so I just wanted to help out,” said Wallace, who caught four passes and dropped two others while playing receiver for the first time since his sophomore year at Sacramento City College in 2000. “Just to get a little sweat in feels good.”