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