Seahawks running back J.D. McKissic will miss four-to-six weeks after suffering a Jones’ fracture in his foot, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Seattle is already down one running back, as rookie first-round pick Rashaad Penny underwent surgery last week for a broken finger. He’s now expected to miss three-to-four weeks, leaving the Seahawks with Chris Carson, C.J. Prosise, Mike Davis, Gerald Holmes, and Justin Stockton as healthy backs.
McKissic, 25, appeared in 13 games and made one start for the Seahawks in 2017. He managed 4.1 yards per carry on 187 attempts, and was effective in the passing game, where he posted 34 receptions. An exclusive rights free agent this offseason, McKissic signed a one-year tender worth the league minimum.
Due to his recovery timeline, McKissic is a candidate to return from injured reserve. However, that scenario would entail Seattle keeping McKissic on its roster until final cutdowns, as any IR/return player must be carried through to his team’s respective initial 53-man roster.
If the Seahawks opt to look for a free agent running back to account for recent depletions, they could look at option such as Orleans Darkwa, Andre Williams, or Lance Dunbar, or perhaps attempt to convince DeMarco Murray — who worked out for Seattle earlier this year — to come out of retirement.
They don’t need to add a running back. It was questionable if they would keep five so they can just keep Davis and move JD to the IR after initial cuts. If it was me, I’d release him at cuts and then try to get him back. He’s not worth the worry in the big picture
What he does for special teams is invaluable. You don’t gave to use Lockett all the time. That’s why they want to keep him. And with Prosise being injury prone, he was a good piece to have.