Seahawks RB Ken Walker III Dealing With 'Jammed' Ankle, Set to Undergo Further Testing

Exiting in the first half after a run in the red zone, Ken Walker III sat out the entire second half of the Seattle Seahawks 27-23 win over the Los Angeles Rams and his status moving forward remains uncertain.
In this story:

While the Seahawks picked up a much-needed 27-23 win over the Rams on Sunday to vault back into the final wild card spot in the NFC, they may be without one of their top playmakers for extended time.

After departing in the second quarter with what coach Pete Carroll called a "jammed" ankle, rookie running back Ken Walker III will undergo further testing on Monday to determine how much time he could potentially miss. Following the game, Carroll indicated it wasn't a sprain and Seattle didn't know the severity of the injury at the time. The team remains hopeful he won't miss much time, if any.

"I can't tell you, because it's not an ankle sprain, he jammed it, so I'm not quite sure what to tell you right now," Carroll said. "We don't know."

Walker got off to a fast start at SoFi Stadium on Sunday, exploding through a huge crease on the Seahawks first offensive play for a 30-yard gain. But he checked out briefly after that run and only logged two more carries before trainers were seen looking at his foot/ankle on the bench midway through the second quarter. He appeared to suffer the injury on his final run when he landed awkwardly along the sideline, heading towards the bench with a noticeable limp.

Seattle initially listed Walker as questionable to return, but he didn't take the field in uniform for the second half and promptly was ruled out. Already without Travis Homer due to a knee injury, DeeJay Dallas gutted through an ankle injury of his own while rotating with Tony Jones Jr. in the final two quarters.

Depending on Walker's test results and how Dallas recovers, the Seahawks could be in the market for running back reinforcements in coming days. On the plus side, Homer may be ready to return in Week 14 and the team does have Darwin Thompson and Godwin Igwebuike on the practice squad to elevate against the Panthers if needed.

In additional injury news, safety Ryan Neal exited late in Sunday's win with a swollen knee. Already down a safety with Josh Jones departing in the first half due to a hamstring issue, veteran Teez Tabor stepped into the lineup to close out the game.

According to Carroll, Neal had knee bursitis with an inflamed bursa sac and after entering Sunday playing through an elbow injury, his status for next week remains up in the air.

"He did a bursa, meaning he's got some swelling in the front of his knee when he hit the ground," Carroll said. "So it's not a knee injury as much as it's, he got smacked, and it ballooned up on him a little bit, so we'll see what happens."

Hey, 12s! Get your Seahawks Tickets from SI Tickets ... HERE!

Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Seahawks? Click Here to subscribe to AllSeahawks.com's Newsletter.

Follow All Seahawks.com on Twitter and Facebook

Make sure to subscribe to our daily podcast @lockedonseahawks today! Click here To Listen.

Want even more Seattle Seahawks news? Check out the SI.com team page here.


Published
Corbin K. Smith
CORBIN K. SMITH

Graduating from Manchester College in 2012, Smith began his professional career as a high school Economics teacher in Indianapolis and launched his own NFL website covering the Seahawks as a hobby. After teaching and coaching high school football for five years, he transitioned to a full-time sports reporter in 2017, writing for USA Today's Seahawks Wire while continuing to produce the Legion of 12 podcast. He joined the Arena Group in August 2018 and also currently hosts the daily Locked On Seahawks podcast with Rob Rang and Nick Lee. Away from his coverage of the Seahawks and the NFL, Smith dabbles in standup comedy, is a heavy metal enthusiast and previously performed as lead vocalist for a metal band, and enjoys distance running and weight lifting. A habitual commuter, he resides with his wife Natalia in Colorado and spends extensive time reporting from his second residence in the Pacific Northwest.