Seahawks welcome back center Tobeck
The Seattle Seahawks expect to have a 36-year-old offensive lineman in uniform Sunday at Tampa Bay, but it’s not the one they originally planned on suiting up.
On the same day he admitted that veteran Chris Gray’s 121-game, regular-season playing streak might come to an end, Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren announced that center Robbie Tobeck, the Washington State University product, has been cleared to participate.
”(Tobeck) got the green light today,” Holmgren said after a Friday practice that did not include either player. “The doctor told me, so he is OK. He weighs 150 pounds, but he is OK.”
While Holmgren was exaggerating about Tobeck’s exact weight, the veteran center is believed to be well less than his typical 300-pound mark. He suffered significant weight loss while recovering from a hip abscess he developed in early November.
That means Chris Spencer is likely to make his eighth start Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Holmgren would not say whether Spencer or Tobeck would start in the postseason.
“Chris has been playing pretty well, so I wouldn’t say that is a slam dunk,” Holmgren said when asked whether Tobeck would eventually get his starting job back. “I have to see.”
Gray, meanwhile, has been downgraded from “probable” to “questionable” for Sunday because of a deep thigh bruise. His regular-season streak – it does not account for a 2003 playoff game he missed with a knee injury – is the longest in franchise history.
At 36, Tobeck and Gray are the Seahawks’ two oldest players.
Panthers expect Delhomme
Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme practiced again, all but assuring he’ll start in the Panthers’ final regular-season game against New Orleans.
Wearing a glove to protect his injured right thumb, Delhomme went through a full workout without difficulty at the team’s practice facility.
Delhomme suffered ligament damage when he banged his thumb against a Philadelphia player’s helmet while throwing a touchdown pass in a loss to the Eagles on Dec. 4. Delhomme missed three games.
Around the league
New York Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey will miss the regular-season finale against Washington today because of an ankle injury. Washington linebacker Khary Campbell, the team’s leading tackler on special teams, will miss the game with a hamstring injury. … Safety Bob Sanders and newly acquired wide receiver Ricky Proehl are likely to miss Indianapolis’ regular-season finale Sunday against Miami.