For the second time in three weeks, the status of Seahawks receiver Doug Baldwin won't be determined until gameday.
Baldwin, who did not practice all week due to a hip injury, is officially listed as questionable for Monday night's game against the Vikings, and will work out pregame to determine his availability.
"He's just barely making it through the week right now," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. "It's going to be all the way up until game time before we know."
Baldwin was in a similar situation two weeks ago when the Seahawks faced the Carolina Panthers, but was able to play, catching five passes for 39 yards. Carroll said Baldwin's injury, while different than the one he was dealing with prior, is related.
"It's a little bit different than what it was, but it's related," Carroll said. "It's not the same injury."
This is the continuation of what has been a physically trying season for Baldwin, who has dealt with numerous injuries dating back to the summer. He missed almost all of training camp and the preseason with a knee injury, but still made it back for the season opener, only to injure his other knee in that game. After missing two games with a knee sprain, Baldwin returned and has not missed a game since despite dealing with groin and elbow injuries on top of the previous knee issues.
"It's been a really hard year for Doug," Carroll said. "He's a guy that doesn't miss anything. He's had to learn how to just get through the weeks and survive. He's had a number of things that have bothered him during the season. His attitude is just ridiculously strong. You can't imagine how competitive he is and how he will just will his way back on the field. We can't pass judgement on anything until the last second with him because he's just been a phenomenal competitor to get out on the field. It has been hard on him. It hasn't been the year at all he had hoped to have. He's ready to jump in there and do whatever he can as soon as he can get that done."
On a more positive note, defensive tackle Shamar Stephen, who missed last week's game with a foot injury, practiced fully and is not listed on the final injury report, meaning he's ready to go against his former team.
"He's ready to go," Carroll said. "He has had a great week, he's full-on, and we're happy to have him back. It really worked out well to break him last week, he needed that, and he came back flying this week, so we're really happy to have him back. It's fun for him to play against his old squad and all that too, and I'm glad he'll be ready for that."
The Seahawks will be without right guard D.J. Fluker, who injured his hamstring in last week's win over the 49ers. Jordan Simmons, who also replaced Fluker in Seattle's Week 10 loss at the L.A. Rams, is expected to make his second career start. Two other players are listed as questionable, running back Rashaad Penny (ankle) and fullback Tre Madden (chest), though Carroll did not provide updates on their status. Penny practiced fully on Friday, while Madden was limited.
Linebacker K.J. Wright will again be out this week because of a knee injury, but Carroll indicated he is making progress in his rehab.
"Today was his first day of really running—I don't know what the result was," Carroll said. "Leading up to it, all of the ramping up has been really on point. He's felt no discomfort at all. That's a really positive sign for him to get right. It's going to still be a bit because we got to get him back into shape and all that because he's missed some time."
Here are the injury reports for both teams:
Seattle Seahawks
Out
LB K.J. Wright (knee, did not participate in practice)
Doubtful
G D.J. Fluker (hamstring, did not participate in practice)
Questionable
WR Doug Baldwin (hip, did not participate in practice)
RB Rashaad Penny (ankle, full participation in practice)
RB Tre Madden (chest, limited participation in practice)
Minnesota Vikings
Out
TE David Morgan (knee, did not participate in practice)
CB Trae Waynes (concussion, did not participate in practice)
WR Chad Beebe (hamstring, did not participate in practice)
Questionable
LB Eric Kendricks (rib, limited participation in practice)
