Seahawks QB Geno Smith ‘ready to go’ vs. 49ers; RB Kenneth Walker III likely won’t play

RENTON, Wash. – Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith is officially listed as questionable for Thursday night’s NFC West showdown with the San Francisco 49ers.

But coach Pete Carroll says Smith is “ready to go” after practicing fully on Wednesday after suffering a bruised triceps Sunday against the Rams and is expected to start against the 49ers.

“I’m kind of thinking he is,” Carroll said when asked if Smith will play in a game that will kick off at 5:20 p.m. at Lumen Field.

Second-year running back Kenneth Walker III, however, is listed as doubtful with a strained oblique and likely won’t play, Carroll said.

“Kenny’s probably not going to make it,” Carroll said. “… We left it as doubtful because you never know. But he wasn’t able to do anything during the week. But we’ll see. We’ll leave the door open that much.”

That appears to clear it up for Seattle’s two big personnel questions this week – Smith will play, Walker will not, and the Seahawks will have to hope they can make do with that to get what is pretty much a win-or-else game for their NFC West division hopes. The 6-4 Seahawks could move into a first-place tie with the 7-3 49ers – and would hold the tiebreaker for the moment – with a win. But with a loss, Seattle falls two games back with six to go.

Seattle also listed rookie safety Jerrick Reed II as out after he suffered an ACL injury Sunday against the Rams, receiver Dareke Young as doubtful and offensive lineman Abe Lucas as questionable. Carroll said Lucas (Washington State) will not play as the team will wait one more week to put him on the 53-man roster.

No other players had game designations, meaning they are all healthy enough to play, a list that includes safety Jamal Adams, who sat out against the Rams due to soreness in his surgically repaired knee.

Carroll said Adams, listed as a full participant in practice the past two days, will play.

Smith, who suffered an elbow-triceps injury late in the third quarter when he was hit by the Los Angeles Rams’ Aaron Donald and then returned to play the final series, did not do any significant work in practices on Monday and Tuesday (all the practices this week were noncontact walk-through style workouts given the short week) but did everything on Wednesday, Carroll said.

“He looked good, felt good,” Carroll said. “… His attitude about what this was it was not going to bother him, it wasn’t going to be a big factor. It looks bad because he’s got a big bruise on the back of his triceps. But his attitude has been right on it the whole time. He hasn’t missed a snap as far as – we didn’t let him throw the first couple days – but he didn’t miss a snap. And so he was doing everything. So he’s ready to go.”

Backup Drew Lock got the bulk of the QB work on Monday and Tuesday, and Carroll noted the Seahawks could elevate Brett Rypien (Shadle Park High) off the practice squad if they feel additional depth at that spot is needed. Rypien signed with the Seahawks to their practice squad two weeks ago and started for the Rams against Green Bay on Nov. 5.

If Walker sits out, it will be the first game he misses this season. He suffered the oblique injury on the first series of the 17-16 loss to the Rams. Walker leads the Seahawks with 613 yards and has six of the team’s seven rushing touchdowns this season.

Carroll said Walker has a chance to return for the Nov. 30 game at Dallas.

“We’re hoping that that’s the case,” Carroll said. “But we won’t know that until (next week).”

Walker’s expected absence will leave the starting running back duties to rookie Zach Charbonnet, who has 261 yards on 53 carries this season, a team-best average of 4.9 per attempt. DeeJay Dallas will be his backup and rookie Kenny McIntosh is expected to see his first NFL action as the third running back.

“He’s been practicing really well,” Carroll said of McIntosh. “He’s looked like he’s part of it without any hesitation, I can tell you that. But you can see he’s a little more excited, because he knows he’s got a shot to go this week. It’s kind of leaning that way.”

Bryant likely to take Reed’s spot on roster

Carroll confirmed reports that Reed suffered an ACL injury Sunday and will likely need surgery.

He remained on the 53-man roster as of Wednesday, but the team could make a move before kickoff to put Coby Bryant on the roster to take his spot as a backup in the secondary and on special teams.

Notes

• Carroll said Lucas had a good workout on Tuesday that proves he is ready to return, but the team will give him one more week before putting him back on the 53-man roster. That means Jason Peters is likely to start again at right tackle Thursday with Stone Forsythe as the backup. Lucas, who started 16 games at right tackle last season, has not played since the first half of the season opener against the Rams on Sept. 10 due to a knee issue. “Abe got his first on-field work yesterday (Tuesday),” Carroll said. “Full-speed, pads, and the whole thing after practice. He did quite well. … So that’s a really good sign for next week.”

• Receiver DK Metcalf sat out practice with a toe injury Tuesday but was a full participant Wednesday and will play, Carroll said. Carroll referred to Metcalf’s injury as a bunions issue.

• The son of former Seahawks quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, T.J. Jackson, was a visitor at practice Wednesday and scheduled to attend Thursday’s game. Carroll said T.J. Jackson, 16, handled the huddle breakdown at the end of practice. Tarvaris Jackson died in a car accident in 2020 at the age of 36. “When T-Jack was here (in 2011 and from 2013-15), he meant so much to us in so many different ways,” Carroll said, adding that T.J. Jackson breaking the team down in the huddle “was a really good moment for us.”