Seattle Seahawks News & Rumors

Chris Carson‘s setback in his return from IR will end up sidelining him for the rest of the season. The Seahawks’ starting running back will undergo season-ending surgery, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

The Seahawks have been without Carson since Week 4 due to a neck injury but saw him return to practice last week. However, Pete Carroll expressed uncertainty about Carson’s timetable. Carson will revert to IR, with Carroll confirming Friday surgery is on tap.

The team had until the end of the month to activate Carson, and Carroll initially expressed optimism the fifth-year back was on track to return. But Carson did not practice this week and will instead aim to recover in time for the 2022 season. Carson, who began his fourth season as Seattle’s backfield starter, totaled 232 rushing yards and three touchdowns this season.

In March, the Seahawks kept Carson in the fold via a two-year, $10.4MM accord. Although the former seventh-round pick has two 1,100-yard seasons on his resume — 2018 and ’19 — injuries have piled up. The Oklahoma State product suffered a broken leg as a rookie, missed the end of the 2019 season because of a hip injury and was sidelined for four games last season due to a foot sprain. This neck issue has brought another bad break for the Day 3 success story.

Seattle has mainly used Alex Collins as its primary runner since Carson went down, but the team still has ex-first-rounder Rashaad Penny in the fold. The injury-prone back has only logged 26 carries over the past two seasons, however.

The Seahawks have seen their starting running back struggle with a neck injury this season. Chris Carson has missed the past five games, and his return from IR may now be in question.

Although Carson returned to practice Nov. 10, starting his 21-day activation clock, Pete Carroll said Wednesday the fifth-year veteran has not made the progress the team hoped in the time since, via the Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta (on Twitter). Considering Carroll’s usual injury-related optimism, his Carson assessment is certainly notable.

This report comes a few weeks after another that indicated Carson had an uncertain timetable. Given that Carson returned to practice and is now on the mend again, the prospect of a season-ending IR reversion — similar to that of the Ravens’ Derek Wolfe, whose 21-day return window closed Tuesday — is realistic.

Seattle re-signed Carson on a two-year, $10.43MM deal in March, doing so after the former seventh-round pick established himself as the team’s starting back over the previous three years. Carson, 27, cleared 1,100 rushing yards in 2018 and ’19, holding off first-round pick Rashaad Penny for the position. His two strong years notwithstanding, Carson has an extensive injury history. He suffered a broken leg as a rookie, missed the end of the 2019 season because of a hip injury and was sidelined for four games last season due to a foot sprain. This neck issue has brought another bad break for the Day 3 success story.

The Seahawks rank 22nd in rushing but do now have injury-prone Penny healthy, with the former first-round pick working alongside veteran Alex Collins.