Hawks’ Herndon back, and just in time

KIRKLAND, Wash. – Kelly Herndon won’t know just how good his left knee is until early Sunday when he lines up against a Green Bay receiver in bump-and-run coverage. Yes, he has practiced the last two days. But until he gets out on that field in Green Bay, he won’t know for sure how he’s going to be able to run and cut on the knee that was injured against the New York Giants back on Nov. 27.

“I’m not too worried about coming up and hitting somebody or having to cover somebody off-man. I don’t think I’ll have too much problem with that,” Herndon said Thursday, sitting at his locker and removing the bulky brace from his leg. “But when I’m on the line of scrimmage, bumping and running, being able to get that initial shake off the line, trying to put my hands on a receiver and then turning and running with them, that’s what I’m thinking about.”

Herndon, who has started six games at cornerback this season after starting 16 games for the Denver Broncos in 2004, said he’s fine and he doesn’t anticipate having any problems after missing four games.

Seeing Herndon practice again gives Seahawks secondary coach Teryl Austin a good feeling. Austin is already going to be without cornerbacks Marcus Trufant and Andre Dyson against the Packers and needs a healthy Herndon back in the rotation.

“Coming back off injury, everybody has little things that they need to work on. I think he’s kind of worked through them, and I thought he (was) much better today than he was yesterday,” said Austin.

Herndon doesn’t think it’s an unnecessary risk to play in a game that won’t affect the Seahawks’ playoff standing. On the contrary, he wants to test himself without having to worry about whether the season is on the line or not.

“I didn’t want my first game back to be a playoff game,” Herndon said. “I wanted to get my reads back, make some tackles, get some hits and make some plays. I wanted to get that feeling back before I get out there for playoff time.”