Seattle Seahawks Injury Update: Jamal Adams Out of Concussion, Back for Bengals?

Though it remains to be seen which starters will return to play along the offensive line, the Seattle Seahawks should be healthier on defense coming off the bye with Jamal Adams and Jarran Reed on the mend.

As expected following their bye week, coach Pete Carroll expects the Seattle Seahawks will be much healthier heading into Sunday's road trip to face off against Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals.

Back on the practice field for a short session on Monday, Carroll noted that several players who have been battling injuries will have a chance to play this week, but it will take a few days to know who will be ready by the weekend.

“We’re better than we were," Carroll told reporters on Monday. "There are some guys that are going to get a chance to jump back out. It helps anybody that got banged up in the game so we’re hoping that this will be a really productive week for returning a few guys. We’ll see how it goes.”

Among those expected to be ready by Wednesday, safety Jamal Adams may have benefited from the week off as much as anyone, as Carroll indicated the veteran defender could clear concussion protocol as early as Tuesday.

Making his much-anticipated return from a torn quad tendon, Adams exited Seattle's Monday night victory over New York just nine snaps into his 2023 debut after banging his helmet on quarterback Daniel Jones' knee diving to make a tackle. Before suffering the latest injury, he registered a pair of tackles and nearly recorded his first sack, taking a poor angle to Jones on a blitz when he had the quarterback lined up in his sights coming into the backfield unblocked.

“He’s on the final stage coming up, getting cleared," Carroll said of Adams. "Pretty promising, thought that he will be cleared tomorrow.”

After a concussion cut Adams' 2023 debut short after just nine snaps against the Giants, the Seahawks should have the hard-hitting safety back on the practice field on Wednesday / © Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

While Adams wasn't quite ready to practice on Monday, the Seahawks did welcome back left tackle Charles Cross, who has been out with a sprained big toe since a season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Rams. With him sidelined, Stone Forsythe has started the past three games protecting Geno Smith's blind side, but Carroll was encouraged by what he saw in his return to the practice field and the team will now have to see how he progresses during the week.

“He was on the practice field today. He worked today and he looked quick and nifty," Carroll assessed. "We’ll see how he does when we come back once we get through the week and see if he can maintain the practice level that will allow him the chance to play.”

In addition to Adams being on the way out of concussion protocol, Smith avoided a serious knee injury and defensive tackle Jarran Reed "should be okay" after bruising his chin late in the Monday night win over the Giants. Both veterans benefited immensely from a week off and barring an unforeseen setback, they will be ready to roll against the Bengals.

Getting healthier along the offensive line, Seattle also could have guards Damien Lewis and Phil Haynes back after both players left with injuries in New York. Lewis sprained his ankle during the second quarter, while Haynes re-aggravated a calf injury that led to him missing a Week 3 win over Carolina, forcing starting center Evan Brown to slide over to left guard with Anthony Bradford replacing Haynes on the right side and Olu Oluwatimi stepping in at the pivot position.

Like Cross, the Seahawks will have to see how Lewis and Haynes fare during the week before making a decision on whether or not they will be available against the Bengals. If one or both players can't go, the team will likely roll with Bradford and Brown at the guard spots, though Carroll hinted veteran Jason Peters could step in on the right side if necessary off the practice squad.

“Both of those guys have a chance to be okay this week. We’ll see how they go. It’s going to take us a bit before we know, but both guys have a chance," Carroll said.

Defensively, the Seahawks hope to have cornerback/safety hybrid Coby Bryant back in action after missing the previous two games with a toe injury. But unlike Cross, he wasn't able to practice yet on Monday, leaving his status uncertain moving forward preparing for Sunday.

In Bryant's absence, rookie Devon Witherspoon enjoyed a breakout game winning NFC Defensive Player of the Week last week, so Seattle doesn't have any reason to rush him back at the moment.

“He wasn’t quite ready to go today. He’s closer than he’s been, had some trouble with his footwear and stuff was bothering him a little bit so he’s not quite ready yet but he’s getting close.”

As for players looking to return from injured reserve, Carroll said second-year receiver Dareke Young is ahead of rookie running back Kenny McIntosh as the two players work back from sports hernia and knee injuries respectively. It doesn't sound like either player will be back this week, but Young could potentially have his window to return to practice start next week if he proves himself ready.

“Dareke is really close. He’s a little bit closer than Kenny is. Dareke is running and doing all kinds of stuff. Kenny is getting back, but not quite yet. It’s still another week or so, Dareke has got to prove it. He’s doing all of the running stuff right now; he is not ready to practice yet," Carroll remarked.

Right tackle Abraham Lucas, who has been on injured reserve since Week 2, is making steady progress coming back from a knee procedure and the team will re-evaluate him later this week. According to Carroll, he wouldn't be ready to practice this week, but the Seahawks won't have to worry about rushing him back since he isn't even eligible to return until after Sunday's game.

For now, Seattle plans to slow play Lucas' recovery to ensure that when he does come back, he doesn't have any recurring issues and he returns to the lineup for good for the remainder of the season to bolster the team's offensive line for the stretch run.

“Abe is not quite around the corner yet to say we can put him on the practice field yet. I don’t know if that’s another week or not, I’m not sure yet. If we were practicing today, which we did, he didn’t go. We’ll look at it again on Wednesday and see if there’s a chance, but at this point, we’ve invested so much time in his recovery, we don’t want to screw it up and bring him back too fast. We’ll be more patient with it and see what happens here, but he’s going to make it back here within the next couple of weeks.”