Seahawks down 4 defensive linemen; Kenneth Walker III returns vs. Lions

RENTON — The Seahawks will be without four of their top defensive linemen/edge rushers — Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy II, Uchenna Nwosu and Boye Mafe — when they play at Detroit Monday night.

All were ruled out by the team after Saturday’s practice due to injuries.

Seattle also listed linebacker Jerome Baker (hamstring) as questionable.

Everyone else on the 53-man roster is healthy, including running back Kenneth Walker III, who has missed the past two games with an oblique issue but will return against the Lions.

Williams suffered a rib injury early in last Sunday’s 24-3 win over Miami, playing just five snaps, while Murphy exited midway through the second quarter with a hamstring injury. 

Neither practiced all week, throwing their status into question, which the team then made official with Saturday’s announcement.

Mafe has been dealing with a knee injury since the New England game that he re-aggravated last week against Miami.

“It’s nothing major,” head coach Mike Macdonald said of Mafe. “Just something that kind of reoccurred in the Miami game that kept him out of this one.”

Macdonald added that the team doesn’t consider any of the injuries serious — none of the players were put on injured reserve, which would mean having to miss at least four games.

“A couple guys we’ll re-evaluate later on next week, I would imagine — not sure on actual timelines,” Macdonald said. “But none are long-term I don’t think, unless something changes.”

Nwosu has been sidelined since the preseason finale against Cleveland on Aug. 24 when he suffered a sprained knee on a low block that earned a penalty.

Seattle did not put Nwosu on injured reserve, hoping he would be back by the Detroit game. But while Nwosu tried to practice some this week — he was officially listed as limited on Saturday — it wasn’t enough for the team to decide to try to have him play Monday.

“You guys know ‘Chenna,” Macdonald said. “This guy works extremely hard. It was worth a shot. And having him out and doing all the stuff like on the field, some of the walkthroughs, staying engaged. I think it was the right decision even though it didn’t work out in our favor.”

While Nwosu has not played this season, Williams, Murphy and Mafe have all been keys to Seattle’s 3-0 start. 

Mafe has three sacks, tied with Derick Hall for the team lead, while Williams has 1.5, along with a team-leading eight quarterback hits.

Murphy, the team’s first pick in the 2024 draft at 16^th overall, has six tackles.

Detroit on paper will also present the most difficult challenge yet for Seattle’s offense as the 2-1 Lions, who advanced to the NFC title game last year, are fourth in the NFL in total offense at 399.7 yards per game and fourth in rushing at 163 yards per game.

Macdonald, though, expressed confidence that the Seahawks can weather the losses up front.

“I wouldn’t say it’s any different [of a challenge],” Macdonald said. “When you have four guys that are down, four more guys are going to be up. Looking forward to seeing those guys play. When you talk about having depth in your football team you want the feeling to be like, ‘OK, I can’t wait to see whoever is going to get that opportunity now.’ So that’s our view of it. Guys are going to have more opportunities than they usually have and looking forward to seeing what they do.”

The loss of Murphy means veterans Jarran Reed and Johnathan Hankins will have to take most of the nose-tackle snaps, while the Seahawks will also likely have Myles Adams active and could elevate a player off the practice squad, such as Quinton Bohanna or Matt Gotel.

Adams and second-year player Mike Morris also figure to see more time to help fill in for Williams while Dre’Mont Jones — who has been playing more on the edge — will likely see more time inside.

Hall has been starting in place of Nwosu, and Trevis Gipson will likely now see more time with Mafe out. The Seahawks also could again elevate Tyus Bowser off the practice squad.

Baker has dealt with a hamstring injury dating to the offseason, was sidelined midway through the second game of the season at New England and did not play against Miami. Baker was listed as practicing on a limited basis Saturday. If he can’t play then rookie Tyrice Knight will likely get his second start with Drake Thomas also getting some snaps.

As for Walker, his return means the Seahawks will again have a full complement of running backs after backup Zach Charbonnet started the past two games.

“He’s looked good,” Macdonald said of Walker, who was listed as a full participant in Saturday’s practice. “He’s ready to go.”

Sponsored

The Monday night game begins a stretch of three games in 11 days with Seattle hosting the New York Giants on Oct. 6 and then the San Francisco 49ers on Oct. 10.

Macdonald said the tight turnaround influenced decisions on who to hold out this week.

“It is a factor on certain guys,” he said. “It’s definitely a discussion point. It’s early in the season. If we are playing the Super Bowl it would be a different conversation probably.”

Both right guards to play 

The Seahawks did not give a game-status designation to starting right guard Anthony Bradford, who missed Thursday’s practice due to a knee injury but returned on Friday and Saturday as a full participant.

That means he will likely again start Monday.

But Macdonald said rookie Christian Haynes will also rotate in as the team considers that spot as still in competition. The Seahawks had also been expected to give Haynes some snaps last week, but he did not play. Bradford, though, allowed two sacks against Miami and was called for two penalties — giving him six on the season.

“You’ll see both those guys,” Macdonald said. “How much. We’ll see how the game plays out.”

Notes 

— Seahawks tight ends Noah Fant (toe) and Pharaoh Brown (foot) were listed as limited participants in practice Saturday. But neither was on the game status report, indicating they are good to go.

— Lions coach Dan Campbell told reporters Saturday that tight end Sam LaPorta, who has been dealing with an ankle injury, is expected to play Monday.