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Seattle Seahawks

Lynch will play despite missing practices

Running back Marshawn Lynch had only eight carries against St. Louis in the Seahawks’ last game. (Associated Press)
John Boyle Everett Herald

RENTON, Wash. – Despite missing two days of practice with a sore knee this week, Marshawn Lynch will play Sunday. 

The Seattle Seahawks running back was back on the practice field Friday, and coach Pete Carroll said Lynch will be fine for Sunday’s game.  

The question now is how much more involved he’ll be in the Seahawks offense. The safe answer is: a heck of a lot more than he was last week. 

In the Seahawks’ ugly 14-9 win in St. Louis, Lynch, Seattle’s go-to guy since he came here in 2010, had only eight carries. It was clear watching Lynch on the sideline that he wasn’t happy with that, nor was Carroll. 

“He’s going to get more involved than he did last week, I’ll say that,” Carroll said. “More involved than last week. That was not right, we didn’t get that done.”

Carroll noted that it was never their intent to limit Lynch’s workload last week, but rather that with the offense getting so little done, gaining only seven first downs, there just weren’t that many chances. 

“We have to play better so that he has the opportunities,” Carroll said. “There was no place to point it, like we didn’t call his play enough. We only had 40 plays, and that’s where you get messed up.”

In St. Louis, Lynch appeared unhappy with his lack of touches. Carroll said earlier this week that he has no issue with Lynch’s frustration. 

“He and I sat on the plane the other night coming home, and we were both sitting in frustration over the exact same issue,” Carroll said. “I share the frustration with him. I don’t mind one bit him being frustrated about that. I was too.”

Harvin still out

As expected, Carroll ruled Percy Harvin out for this week’s game, saying the receiver is still working his way back from soreness that crept up after he returned to practice last week. 

With Harvin still on the physically unable to perform list, but having returned to practice last week, the Seahawks can go two more games before they have to activate him on the 53-man roster (teams have 21 days from when players return to practice to activate them). 

Asked if he regretted “starting the clock” on Harvin by bringing him back last week, Carroll said: “No. Not yet. If he was on our team and was banged up, we certainly wouldn’t mind keeping him as one of the inactives, so if that’s the way it winds a few weeks from now, that’s what it is, but we’re hoping to get him back. He was fine a week ago ready to go, and the wear and tear of the comeback just got him a little bit, so we’re just slowing him down.” 

Injured tackles closer

Left tackle Russell Okung and right tackle Breno Giacomini are both still a little ways away from game action, but both should be back on the practice field in some capacity next week.  

Okung, who is on the injured reserve/designated for return list, has to miss eight weeks from when he was placed on that list, so he cannot play until Nov. 17 at the earliest. Giacomini, who had knee surgery earlier this season, appears to be on a similar timeline as Okung.