PHOENIX, Ariz. —Seahawks coach Pete Carroll met with the media Wednesday morning at the NFL Annual Meetings, and the many topics he addressed included the ongoing recovery of players who are recovering from injuries.
Receiver Tyler Lockett and safety Earl Thomas are both recovering well from broken legs, though Carroll said Lockett, whose injury required surgery, is ahead of Thomas, whose injury did not. And while both will be around during offseason workouts, they likely won't be able to do full workouts with the team until training camp.
"Tyler's a little bit ahead cause of the surgery he had," Carroll said. "Earl's doing really well. They'll be around and involved in a little bit of everything, but they won't be able to go full-speed. We probably won't get either guy until camp. I know Tyler wants to get back sooner than that, he may, but we'll see… They are both on the ground running and doing some stuff now."
Cornerback DeShawn Shead, meanwhile, has a bit further to go in the recovery from the knee injury he sustained in Seattle's divisional round loss at Atlanta. While both Carroll and general manager John Schneider have said Shead could very well miss the start of the season, Shead is still aiming for a Week 1 return.
"He is behind those guys and it is going to take him longer to get back," Carroll said. "He shooting for the first ballgame, at least that's his goal that he has in mind. We'd be really surprised if he could do that, but DeShawn is an amazing player and he can do anything, so if he makes it back before then it will be fitting for the way he has approached the game and the way he's been about rehabbing, returning and overcoming odds and all of that. He's in good spirits about it, he's excited about his rehab. I visited with him a week ago, so we'll see what happens. It's a little bit out of everybody's hands, just going see how it works out for him."
Carroll also confirmed that safety Kam Chancellor had surgery on both ankles in the offseason: "He had both of his ankles cleaned up at the same time. Can you imagine that? I can't even imagine that. He couldn't even walk at all for a week or something, but he said, 'It's going to be the hardest way to do it, but it'll be good for me.' He had both ankles operated on on the same day. I think that's crazy, but he did it. He's a stud."
And while quarterback Russell Wilson isn't recovering from surgery, he is coming off a season in which he was banged up for much of the year, playing through serious knee and ankle sprains. Carroll said Wilson is currently getting in good workouts in Los Angeles with teammates.
"He's doing a lot of things," Carroll said. "Very well-rounded training program that he's going through. He's working a lot at USC and he's been down at the other school (UCLA) and he has been really active and really out there in taking a lot of people with him. He's worked with college kids and a lot of people in the area that work with him. Our own players have been cruising through kind of weekly. He's working with Jimmy (Graham) this week and they've had a great week. He's been with a bunch of other guys throughout and so it's working out great. He's just trying to get himself in the best shape that he's ever been in, which is no surprise for any of us. He's really, really tuned in, so he's having a great offseason."
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Spend a day operating behind-the-scenes with Seahawks general manager John Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll at the 2017 NFL Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana, where professional football's top prospects worked out and interviewed for the League's 32 teams.
