Seahawks tight end Jimmy Graham, who was placed on injured reserve earlier this week after tearing his patellar tendon in the team's Week 12 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, will undergo surgery today to repair the damage, according to Seattle head coach Pete Carroll.
"He's having surgery today if all goes right with the meetings that he had this morning," Carroll said of Graham at his Wednesday press conference ahead of his team's Week 13 road matchup with the Minnesota Vikings. "He's back on the east coast, so we'll know more about it when we hear from them."
Carroll has said he expects the Seahawks to have Graham ready for 2016 and reiterated that hope on Wednesday when asked if Graham will be back by the start of next season.
"Yes," Carroll said. "Now, I don't know what I'm talking about, but I'm saying yes. Very optimistic at this point."
With Graham's season ending early, the team signed seventh-year tight end Chase Coffman on Tuesday for depth at the position. Carroll said Coffman is a player the Seahawks have kept track of for a while.
"He's a tall guy, good catcher," Carroll said of the 6-foot-6, 244-pound Coffman, who will wear No. 86 in Seattle. "Has been a guy that we think could fit with the stuff that we need him to do, so we've kind of had our eye on him for a while in case we needed somebody."
Coffman joins a tight end group that also includes Luke Willson and Cooper Helfet on the 53-man active roster. Willson will move into the starting spot with Graham out and Carroll said the Seahawks don't plan to change much, if any, of their offensive approach moving forward.
"We're not going to change," Carroll said. "It may seem like it, but we didn't really change when Jimmy got here. We just wanted to get the football there. We've always thought we had the routes and the concepts to call on and we just needed to put him in position so that we could get that done. So we're not going to change much, I don't see us changing at all really."
Graham, acquired in an offseason trade with the New Orleans Saints, finishes his first season in Seattle with 48 catches for 605 yards and two touchdowns. With his year officially over, Carroll was asked to assess the club's move for the three-time Pro Bowler.
"I love the guy on our team," Carroll said. "He's a terrific teammate, he brings character and personality to our team. He's a dynamic player. I can only see for really cool things to happen in the future. I think it's going to be a great long-term decision that we made. We're really happy to have him, we miss the heck out of him."
The Seahawks finished out their three-week home stand with a thrilling 39-30 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers and team photographer Rod Mar documented the excitement from pregame to postgame in this week's photo essay.
Cornerback Richard Sherman was all business as he walked into the locker room before the game.
Quarterback Russell Wilson woke up at 5:30 a.m. on game day feeling ill, but he didn't let it affect his play or his interactions with fans before the game.
After pregame warmups, young defensive backs DeShawn Shead and Marcus Burley talk strategy while Kam Chancellor listens to music.
Defensive backs take part of their traditional pregame huddle before taking the field for warmups.
Frank Clark waits in the locker room for game time.
Defensive end Brandon Mebane spoke to the team just moments before they took the field for the game with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Tight end Jimmy Graham leaps skyward as he is introduced during pregame.
Captains for both teams were joined by Honorary Captain and former Seahawk defensive back Eugene Robinson, who wore his number 41.
Richard Sherman pumps up his teammates seconds before the teams took the field for kickoff.
Seattle's crowd noise forced Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to work hard to communicate with his teammates.
This fan showed her dedication to both teams playing on Sunday.
Cornerback Jeremy Lane, playing for the first time since being injured intercepting a pass in the Super Bowl, lost no time in picking off another, this time on a failed fake field goal by the Steelers at the start of the second quarter.
Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane races 54 yards with an interception return as Pittsburgh's Alejandro Villeneuve tries to pursue.
12s were well aware of cornerback Jeremy Lane's return to action after being injured in last season's Super Bowl.
Thomas Rawls, once again starting in place of the injured Marshawn Lynch, leaps through a hole at the line of scrimmage
Seahawks receiver Doug Baldwin points skyward after his 16-yard touchdown reception from Russell Wilson gave Seattle a 7-3 lead.
This 12 was in the holiday spirit even though the calendar still read November.
Quarterback Russell Wilson stood tall in the pocket and fired strikes all over the field against Pittsburgh. Wilson celebrated his 27th birthday by throwing for 345 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions.
Quarterback Russell Wilson celebrates with receiver Doug Baldwin after they connected on the first of three passing touchdowns on the afternoon.
Seahawks fans in the south end zone wished a happy birthday to quarterback Russell Wilson, who threw five touchdown passes on his 27th birthday.
Seattle tight end Jimmy Graham fights off Pittsburgh's Ross Cockrell for an 18-yard gain and a first down.
Receiver Jermaine Kearse gestures after one of his four catches, two of which resulted in touchdowns.
At halftime, head coach Pete Carroll spoke with cornerback Marcus Burley in the locker room.
Seahawks defensive end Frank Clark sacks Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in the second half.
Seattle's Jimmy Graham battles with Pittsburgh's Ross Cockrell near the end zone on a pass from Russell Wilson.
Jimmy Graham uses his size and strength to outmuscle Pittsburgh's Ross Cockrell and makes a juggling catch for a 36-yard reception to the one-yard line.
Jimmy Graham is pumped up and gets the crowd pumped up after his juggling catch to the one-yard line set up a Seattle touchdown.
Running back Thomas Rawls jumps and celebrates after pounding home a one-yard touchdown to give Seattle a 32-30 lead.
Fans in the south end zone roar as the Seahawks fought to protect a fourth quarter lead.
Richard Sherman has plenty of room to run after a fourth quarter interception, which he returned for 26-yards to set up a Seattle touchdown.
On the Seahawks sideline, cornerback Richard Sherman makes a point to teammates between defensive series.
Seahawks tight end Jimmy Graham reaches out to try to make a play on a pass from Russell Wilson in the end zone as Pittsburgh's Antwon Blake defends. Graham injured his knee on the play.
Teammates and head coach Pete Carroll huddle around injured Jimmy Graham after the tight end was injured trying to catch a pass in the end zone in the fourth quarter.
The Seahawks defensive line kept battling and finally got to Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger with Bruce Irvin and Michael Bennett combining on this play.
12s brought the noise during the last of three straight home games at CenturyLink Field. The Seahawks play on the road for the next two weeks.
Seahawks receiver Doug Baldwin heads upfield and applies a stiff-arm to Pittsburgh's Anton Blake on his way to an 80-yard touchdown that sealed Seattle's victory.
Seahawks receiver Doug Baldwin sails into the end zone at the end of his 80-yard touchdown catch-and-run, helped by a block by teammate Tyler Lockett (16) on Pittsburgh's Anton Blake (41).
Seahawks receivers Jermaine Kearse and Doug Baldwin celebrate with fans after Baldwin's 80-yard touchdown from Russell Wilson in the fourth quarter. The two receivers accounted for five touchdown receptions.
Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor leaps high to intercept a pass intended for Pittsburgh's Martavis Bryant late in the game to help seal the win.
Strong safety Kam Chancellor rests on the bench after his interception.
Defensive backs Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman shake hands on the sidelines as the clock runs out on Seattle's 39-30 win over the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers.
Cornerback Jeremy Lane is congratulated by defensive coordinator Kris Richard just after the final whistle of the Seahawks win over the Steelers at CenturyLink Field.
In the locker room, after most of the players had left, safety Earl Thomas and head coach Pete Carroll were still breaking down the day's events.
Wide receiver Doug Baldwin left the locker room with the three footballs he caught for touchdowns on the afternoon. Asked by the media when the last time he'd scored three TD's in a game, Baldwin answered, "Little league, probably".
