Can Seattle Seahawks Overcome Nightmarish Injury News at Detroit Lions?

The Seahawks ruled out three starting defensive linemen for Monday's prime time game against the Lions. Do they have enough depth to withstand such losses?

Sep 22, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) smiles before the start of the play during the second quarter against the Miami Dolphins at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Ng-Imagn Images / Kevin Ng-Imagn Images

Even with the benefit of an extra day before facing the Detroit Lions in a pivotal Monday Night Football matchup, the Seattle Seahawks will be without four key defensive linemen in prime time, including starters Leonard Williams and Boye Mafe.

In addition to Williams and Mafe, Uchenna Nwosu will miss a fourth straight game as he continues to work back from a sprained knee suffered in the preseason finale and first-round pick Byron Murphy II will miss his first career game after straining a hamstring in last week's win over the Dolphins. Without those four players, rather than dwell on their absences on Monday night, coach Mike Macdonald looks forward to seeing other players step up when their numbers are called in a tough road environment to show off Seattle's depth in the trenches.

"I wouldn't say it's any different than when we've got four guys that are down, that's four more guys are going to be up," Macdonald commented on Saturday. "Looking forward to seeing those guys play. When you talk about having depth on your football team, you want the feeling to be like, 'Okay, I can't wait to see whoever's going to get that opportunity now.' So that's our view, is that guys are going to have more opportunities than they've usually had and looking forward to seeing what they do."

If there's a silver lining for the Seahawks, Macdonald and his staff will still be able to roll out a solid starting lineup featuring veteran defensive tackles Jarran Reed and Johnathan Hankins in the interior and the duo of Dre'Mont Jones and Derick Hall at outside linebacker off the edge. But beyond those four players, the team will have to count on seldom-used reserves and practice squad elevations to help fill the void.

Among those who will have a chance to make their mark playing substantial snaps up front, second-year defender Mike Morris projects to fill Williams' role as a tall, long 3-tech and base defensive end and athletic veteran Myles Adams offers the same positional flexibility as Murphy with the ability to play 3-tech or even nose tackle in a pinch. Off the practice squad, nose tackles Quinton Bohanna and Matt Gotel could be options to reinforce the interior, while Tyus Bowser could join Trevis Gipson on the active roster as the primary reserves behind Hall and Mafe.

Can Seattle withstand the litany of injuries in the Motor City? On a new episode of Locked On Seahawks, host Corbin Smith checks out the team's depth chart minus four of their best players along the defensive line and examines which players will have the best opportunity to prove themselves as the next man up.

Listen to the latest Locked On Seahawks in entirety here or subscribe for free to the podcast platform of your choice here.

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