The Seahawks say that quarterback Geno Smith (groin) might not play against the 49ers.
The Seattle Seahawks were already double-digit underdogs in their road game toward the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. They may have to play their NFC West foes without starting quarterback Geno Smith.
Carroll, Smith’s coach, said on Saturday that Smith “tweaked the area around his pelvis a little bit” when he tripped over someone in practice on Thursday.
He said, “We’ll see” when asked if he thought Smith would play on Sunday. “Today we gave him a break.”
Smith had a limited status on Thursday and a nonparticipant position on Friday. The Seahawks will have to see Smith stretch out before their game on Sunday, Carroll said.
“Yeah, we’re going to sit back and see.” Smith was listed as doubtful by the Seahawks because he hurt his groin.
Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet, two running backs, are also iffy, even though they played fully on Friday. Since he hurt his oblique on the first play of the Seahawks’ loss to the Rams on November 19, Walker hasn’t played. He practiced with a small group for the first time because then on Thursday.
Charbonnet missed the last drive of Seattle’s setback to the Dallas Cowboys on November 30 because of a bruised knee. He was restricted on Thursday but was able to play fully on Friday.
He said, “I thought both of those guys look pretty good.” “Yeah, they looked good.” Things need to be watched tomorrow to see the way they feel and everything. “But both of them worked today.”
Smith still had a triceps bruise from the Rams game on November 19 when he hurt his groin on Thursday. He told the team before practice that his right arm was getting better but still “not close” to 100%.
Because Smith was hurt, the Seahawks re-signed senior quarterback Sean Mannion to the practice squad on Friday so he could be their third quarterback. He was on the Seahawks’ practice squad last season and in 2021, he was with the team in training camp.
The Seahawks got Lock, 27, to the Denver Broncos in March 2022 in a trade for Russell Wilson. But he has only played 25 snaps this season.
Since Smith beat him out to be the starter that summer, Lock was not playing a single game of football last year. He filled in for a hurt Smith twice during the season and went 4 of 12 for 66 yards or an interception.
The team’s sickness report says Smith might not be able to play in Seattle’s return with San Francisco. Asked by reporters on Friday, coach Pete Carroll wasn’t sure if his QB would be able to play on Sunday. He said, “We’ll see.”
Smith had been playing with a triceps problem in his throwing arm for a few weeks, so he missed some of Seattle’s loss to Los Angeles in Week 11.
This meant that backup quarterback Drew Lock had to step in and throw an interception that changed the game and gave the Rams the lead.
Lock might get to start on Sunday against the 49ers, who have won four straight games and dominated the Seahawks in Thanksgiving. They are one of the best teams in the NFL.
“He’s been patiently awaiting for this opportunity, looking at it, and preparing for it,” Carroll said about Lock. “If this comes to pass, he is as ready to be he can get.”
The Seahawks are currently ninth in the NFC with a record of 6-6, two spots behind the last wild-card spot. They can’t afford additional losses if they want to make the playoffs to earn a second straight year.
This makes Smith’s performance even more important, even though it hasn’t been as good as it was in 2022.
Smith is doubtful for Seattle because he hurt his groin. Smith was added to Seattle’s injury report on Thursday as a restricted participant in their second session of the week.
Smith has been hurt in the elbow since the loss to the Rams on November 19. A few days later, on Thanksgiving night, he was able to take part in the game against San Francisco. Last Thursday, they lost to Dallas.
With 12 games played so far this season, Smith has successfully completed 64.4% of his passes, thrown for 2,918 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions.
Drew Lock is Seattle’s back-up quarterback. On Friday, the team added Sean Mannion to the practice squad.