Jackson hurting, but likely to play

RENTON, Wash. – Tarvaris Jackson will almost certainly play for a fourth straight week Sunday. He will not, however, be playing pain free.

In fact, Jackson isn’t going to be 100 percent the rest of the year, as he and the Seahawks continue to monitor the pectoral muscle injury he suffered in New York last month.

Despite making throws like the 50-yard strike he threw across to Doug Baldwin while rolling to his left against Baltimore last week, Jackson is playing through pain. There are no guarantees that this injury won’t get worse before the season is over, and Jackson realizes he could need surgery at some point, be it before the season ends if the injury worsens, or after the season if it doesn’t heal right on its own, but for now he’s trying to ignore all of that.

“I’m not really thinking about surgery,” Jackson said. “They told me it’s a possibility, but in my head I’m not thinking that. I’m just trying to make sure that I’m healthy for each game and take it one game at a time, and let next year take care of next year. And if I have to have surgery in the offseason, I don’t think it’ll set me back for next year. Of course, there will be some rehab time, but it’s nothing that I’m thinking about right now.”

This week, and almost certainly every week between now and the end of the season, is an exercise in injury management for Jackson, his coaches and team doctors. On Wednesday, Jackson was limited in practice, and then on Thursday he was a full-go. Friday? Not so much.

“Tarvaris did very well in practice yesterday and couldn’t throw today,” coach Pete Carroll said.

Wait, the starting quarterback couldn’t throw two days before the game? That would seemingly be a major blow, but instead it’s just part of how Jackson is going to have to go through the season. Despite not throwing Friday, the expectation is that, with a day to rest today, he will be ready to start in St. Louis on Sunday.

“His should be able to do it by what we’ve seen the last few weeks, so we kind of feel like we’ve got a feel, but he’s not comfortable today,” Carroll said. “That’s just the way it goes.”

And while Jackson, injured or not, limited in practice or not, is the Seahawks’ best option right now, it is far from a perfect scenario. For quarterbacks more than anyone else on the team, practice is incredibly valuable, and while Jackson is on hand every day and paying attention, the reps he misses and the throws he doesn’t make can only slow the development of Seattle’s offense.

“He misses a lot of stuff,” Carroll said. “He misses the opportunity for the installation for the end of the week. He has to kind of think through the routes and read through them standing behind the quarterback to get things done. It’s just not the same, but we still feel confident in his factor helping us win. He looked really good a day ago, so that’s how we’ll go, but it’s not the way you design it at all. He needs the work and it’s going to accumulate, I would think somewhere, but hopefully we’ll be able to play through that.”

Players good to go

Receiver Doug Baldwin, receiver Sidney Rice and safety Kam Chancellor, who all suffered concussions last week, are “ready to go” according to Carroll and are listed as probable. Also probable are tight end Cameron Morrah, who has missed two games with toe and knee injuries, and linebacker David Vobora, who missed last week’s game because of a concussion.

Safety Atari Bigby and defensive end Anthony Hargrove, who both have hamstring injuries, are questionable and will be game-day decisions, Carroll said.