Chris Carson‘s setback in his return from IR will end up sidelining him for the rest of the season. The Seahawks’ starting running back will undergo season-ending surgery, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
The Seahawks have been without Carson since Week 4 due to a neck injury but saw him return to practice last week. However, Pete Carroll expressed uncertainty about Carson’s timetable. Carson will revert to IR, with Carroll confirming Friday surgery is on tap.
The team had until the end of the month to activate Carson, and Carroll initially expressed optimism the fifth-year back was on track to return. But Carson did not practice this week and will instead aim to recover in time for the 2022 season. Carson, who began his fourth season as Seattle’s backfield starter, totaled 232 rushing yards and three touchdowns this season.
In March, the Seahawks kept Carson in the fold via a two-year, $10.4MM accord. Although the former seventh-round pick has two 1,100-yard seasons on his resume — 2018 and ’19 — injuries have piled up. The Oklahoma State product suffered a broken leg as a rookie, missed the end of the 2019 season because of a hip injury and was sidelined for four games last season due to a foot sprain. This neck issue has brought another bad break for the Day 3 success story.
Seattle has mainly used Alex Collins as its primary runner since Carson went down, but the team still has ex-first-rounder Rashaad Penny in the fold. The injury-prone back has only logged 26 carries over the past two seasons, however.
Nobody saw the Chris Carson injury coming.
I know they’ll give Penny the reps behind Collins, but I’d like to see DJ Dallas have a bigger role. He’s been a real playmaker the few chances he’s gotten. Even Travis Homer should be ahead of Penny.
Might as well, their season is over.