SEATTLE- In the Seahawks 27-24 lost to Green Bay the worst news came late in the first quarter with first-round pick Russell Okung being taken off the field due to an apparent injury. After the game the Seahawks confirmed that the injury was a mid-ankle sprain.
For the Seahawks rookie left tackle this couldn’t have come at a worse time given the fact there are only two weeks left until the regular season. Seattle had been counting on Okung to be the teams immediate starting left tackle to replace Walter Jones, but now the team will have to rely on Mansfield Wrotto for at least the last two preseason games if not week one against San Francisco.
Okung, who recently signed a six-year $ 58 million dollar contract with $ 30 million guaranteed will be a big loss for Seattle if he can’t start the season at left tackle.
Seattle has already lost backup tackle Ray Willis with a knee injury so with an already thin offensive line the Seahawks will hope Okung returns within the next 2-4 weeks.
Pete Carroll said after the game “It’s pretty significant” and stressed the importance of Okung to not only the offensive line but the entire offense.
With Seattle’s recent struggles with injury plagued seasons Pete Carroll had been hoping to start the season with all of his starters healthy and he’s hoping that Okung’s injury doesn’t prevent that from happening.
Notes:
-Seattle also has guard Chester Pitts, who signed a one-year deal this off-season but he’s recovering from knee surgery so Seattle won’t be counting on him to start.
-Okung didn’t miss a game in his time at Oklahoma State so Seattle is hoping that durability transfers over to the NFL.
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