Carlson out for season

RENTON, Wash. – When the Seahawks signed Zach Miller in free agency, Pete Carroll insisted it was not to replace John Carlson, but to give the team a potent one-two punch at tight end.   

That prolific tight end duo won’t materialize this year, however, because Carlson will miss the season with a torn labrum that will require shoulder surgery, Carroll announced Tuesday.  

“We were really counting on this,” Carroll said. “We were so excited about having Zach and John play together, and unfortunately that’s not going to happen now. It’s disappointing, because John had great start to camp, he was rocking and rolling, and those two guys out there together looked really good.”

Carlson played in Seattle’s first preseason game on Aug. 11, then practiced the following Saturday, but has not practiced since. Carlson, 27, has caught 137 passes for 1,519 yards and 13 touchdowns in his three-year career.

With Carlson out, the Seahawks have only three healthy tight ends in Miller, Anthony McCoy and Dominique Byrd. Cameron Morrah, who showed promise last season, is on the physically unable to perform list with a toe injury, and is not expected to be ready for the start of the season. McCoy, a sixth-round pick last year, and Byrd, a former third-round pick who spent training camp in Arizona last season, have both impressed Carroll this preseason.  

Notes

RB Marshawn Lynch (ankle) and LB David Hawthorne (knee) are not expected to play in Friday’s preseason game, Carroll said… LT Russell Okung (ankle) will also likely miss the final preseason game, but is on track to return for the season opener.