The Seahawks know they will be without All-Pro safety Jamal Adams when they host the Vikings on Sunday night, but still to be determined is the status of several other players listed as questionable due to injuries, as well as new defensive tackle Damon Harrison, who was signed to the practice squad earlier in the week.
Harrison is in the team's plans eventually, but the question is whether or not they promote him from the practice squad this week or give him more time to practice seeing as he had not practiced, prior to this week, since the end of the 2019 season. Carroll said they'll wait to make a decision on both Harrison and newly-signed defensive end Jonathan Bullard. Bullard is on the 53-man roster so the Seahawks can wait until 90 minutes prior to kickoff to determine if he'll be active, while Harrison would need to be added to the roster by 1 p.m. Saturday to be able to play.
"They both have been able to get the work," Carroll said. "It gives us the chance to choose, that's where we are with those guys."
As for the five players listed as questionable, here's what Carroll had to say:
CB Quinton Dunbar
Dunbar has missed the past two games with a knee injury, but is looking to make his return on Sunday.
"He did really well, particularly yesterday in a full-go practice," Carroll said. "There's a really good chance that he's going to be ready to go."
LB Jordyn Brooks
Brooks, who missed last week's game with a knee injury, was unlikely to play this week as of Carroll's Wednesday press conference, but Carroll said there has been progress. Even so, with a bye week coming up next week, the Seahawks may give him more time to recover.
"He is feeling a lot better," Carroll said. "He has made a turn, so it's positive. Again, with that (bye) week next week looming, it's kind of hard to not utilize that for some of these guys, so that's in the back of my mind for sure."
G Mike Iupati
Starting left guard Mike Iupati is likely to play despite back spasms that came up this week.
"Mike came back today and felt OK," Carroll said. "We took care of them today, but he just had some lower back spasms or something that jumped up and resolved real quickly."
RB Carlos Hyde
Hyde, who was held out last week with a shoulder injury, has been able to practice the past two weeks, albeit in a red non-contact jersey. The question now is whether he is ready for contact this weekend or if the Seahawks want to give him until after the bye week.
"Both of the weeks have been good for him in that he's been able to work, get good speed work done, timing and all of that," Carroll said. "We just have to make the decision on whether or not he's going to be safe to go. We don't want to set him back at all knowing we have a big break coming. So he's another one of those guys that kind of falls into that consideration. He probably could play in this game and we know that, so he's going to do some politicking here this weekend and we'll see how that conversation goes all the way up to Sunday."
S Lano Hill
Hill was a surprise scratch in Week 3 with a back injury that cropped up that weekend, and after missing two games, progress hasn't been good, Carroll said, making it unlikely Hill is able to play this week, and perhaps for a while.
"He has not been able to make the turn," Carroll said. "He's got some issues he's dealing with that seems to be in a pattern where it's not changing much, so we're concerned about him getting right. There's not much he can do He's got some stuff that he's dealing with, he just has to get through and it has to resolve, and if it doesn't, then it could be a long-term deal for him. So we've just got to get him in one day to the next and see what happens. His attitude is really good and all, but he's not getting the relief that we would like to see happen, so it's not looking like he's going to be able to get back. If he does, he does, and he'll pop back when he comes back. He can run, he can do a lot of things, but there's some issues that he has. So there's a question about him each week right now."
As for Adams, Carroll said the decision to declare him out early in the week was made in part to take pressure off of the safety who so badly wants to get back on the field. Carroll also confirmed that Adams should be back after the bye.
"It's why I made the declaration for him early, so we're not hanging with it during the week," Carroll said. "We want to make sure to get him right. That was just so he can get really focused on the work—he's applying himself to his rehab like he does on the football field, so he's really going for it, and he's going to be ready the next turn, just not this one."
