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Seahawks Defensive End Michael Bennett Ruled Out For Sunday's Game at New Orleans; Russell Wilson "Ready To Go"

The latest Seahawks injury updates from head coach Pete Carroll ahead of Sunday's game at New Orleans.

The Seahawks will be without Pro Bowl defensive end Michael Bennett when they face the New Orleans Saints, the result of a knee injury that potentially could require surgery, head coach Pete Carroll said.

In more positive news, quarterback Russell Wilson practiced fully Friday and is "ready to go" after being limited by a pectoral injury earlier in the week, Carroll said.

On Bennett, Carroll said the defensive end had a "little cartilage deal" show up on an MRI this week after dealing with some discomfort and swelling coming out of Seattle's Week 7 game at Arizona. Bennett had left Seattle's Week 6 game with a knee injury, but bounced back from that and played 81 snaps against the Cardinals. Carroll said this injury is in the same knee as the one hurt against the Falcons, but wasn't sure if the injuries are related.

"We're going to check him on Monday and see if there's something we can do for him," Carroll said. "His knee bothered him after the game, so we'll look into seeing what's necessary next week.

"It might be related (to the earlier injury), it popped up during the game (against Arizona). Nothing showed after the Atlanta game, and there was a little something we found in the MRI, so we're going to make sure we know what we're doing and take care of him."

Asked if surgery was an option, Carroll said, "There's a possibility, yeah."

With Bennett sidelined, Carroll said Frank Clark and Cassius Marsh will both likely take on bigger workloads against the Saints.

"Frank will get more snaps," Carroll said. "Frank has been doing great. We're looking forward to him getting a big load, he'll get more, and it'll call on Cassius to do a little bit more."

The Seahawks will also add former Falcons defensive end Malliciah Goodman to the defensive line rotation after signing him earlier in the week.

"We're fortunate we had him coming in this week," Carroll said. "He did well in practice and he'll dress for the game, he'll be a part of it… He's got real good technique, he has real long arms. He's got a nice physical way about him."

Safety Kam Chancellor will miss a third straight game with a groin injury that is proving to be more serious than the Seahawks had initially hoped.

"I was real hopeful going in that this would be the week that it turned, but we didn't quite get it done," Carroll said. "… It just didn't turn the corner for him, so we're just going to wait it out. What it's turned out to be is a substantial groin pull, more than we had hoped."

Despite leaving last week's game with a knee injury, left tackle Bradley Sowell has not been ruled out. Sowell will work out on game day to determine his availability, but if he can't go, Carroll said rookie George Fant is the likely option to replace him.

"We're going to work out Brad on game day," Carroll said. "He made great progress this week. There's a chance he'll dress for this game. George finished the game last week, and that's a likely move for us to go with. We've got some other choices, and we're not ruling out Brad at this point. I don't know how he did that that fast, but he did and he looks like he's ready to compete for it. He'll try to show us on game day that he's ready to go."

Receiver Tyler Lockett is listed as questionable, but is "ready to go," Carroll said. Lockett has been battling a knee injury since Seattle's Week 2 loss in Los Angeles, but Carroll said that injury is "all but gone, it's not an issue for him." Lockett did take a knee to the thigh in practice Wednesday, but Carroll said the receiver has responded well to that and should be fine for the game.

As for Wilson, Carroll said his quarterback threw in practice every day, but "we kept it limited to make sure he didn't aggravate it. He threw well today, so he's ready to go."

On the plus side, Carroll noted Wilson should be more mobile as his knee injury continues to heal.

"He continues to improve in his mobility," Carroll said. "I wouldn't be surprised if he takes off a little bit more than he has. He's ready to do that."

Running back Thomas Rawls is still out with an ankle injury, but did run this week.

"He's going about it very aggressively, he's going to work his way back," Carroll said. "… We're still a couple weeks away. We won't know until he starts to endure the work load and all of that."

Rookie cornerback DeAndre Elliott, who has been a big contributor on special teams this season, is out with a hamstring injury. Carroll said rookie safety Tyvis Powell should take on a bigger special teams role in Elliott's absence.

As for the defensive players who were feeling the effects of a huge workload against the Cardinals, 

"Because we took care of them and adjusted their reps, I think everything worked out fine," he said. "They looked good, they look like they're ready to go. Everyone's responding like they feel great. They looked very quick in practice today."

Seattle Seahawks

Out

RB Thomas Rawls (Fibula, Did Not Participate)

TE Luke Willson (Knee, Did Not Participate)

DE Michael Bennett (Knee, Did Not Participate)

SS Kam Chancellor (Groin, Did Not Participate)

LB Kevin Pierre-Louis (Ankle, Did Not Participate)

CB DeAndre Elliott (Hamstring, Did Not Participate)

Questionable

T Bradley Sowell (Knee, Did Not Participate)

WR Tyler Lockett (Thigh, Full Participation)

New Orleans Saints

Out

LB Stephone Anthony (Hamstring, Did Not Participate)

WR Jake Lampman (Knee, Did Not Participate)

CB Sterling Moore (Abdomen, Did Not Participate)

CB Delvin Breaux (Fibula, Limited Participation)

Questionable

LB Dannell Ellerbe (Quadriceps, Limited Participation)

G Senio Kelemete (Neck, Limited Participation)

RB Daniel Lasco (Hamstring, Limited Participation)

T Andrus Peat (Groin, Limited Participation)

T Terron Armstead (Knee, Limited Participation)

The Seahawks face the Saints for Week 5 of the 2022 season at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. Take a look back at photos from the past games between the two teams.

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