After the Seahawks rested almost all of their starters for their preseason opener, there's a chance some of those players will be involved in Saturday's game against Denver, though Seahawks coach Pete Carroll wouldn't say either way what the plan is for the game.

Asked if the starters might play, Carroll nodded and said, "Yeah." But when asked if that answer meant, yes, they will play, or yes they might play, Carroll said, "We'll show you what's going on when we get there."

There are, however, a handful of players we know won't be available due to injury. Here are some of the injury updates provided by Carroll:

• Center Ethan Pocic has a chance to get back to practice next week having been out with a hamstring injury, but he won't play Saturday: "He's doing well. He's not ready to go yet. Next week is the week we're hoping we can get something done."
• Tackle Jamarco Jones returned this week after missing the preseason opener with back spasms, and he is expected to play: "He's going to be in position to play this week. We're happy to have him back. He had back spasms that were over a week to get them to quiet down, but he's ready to go."
• The status of defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche, who missed the preseason opener but returned to practice this week, is not known yet, Carroll said.
• Receiver Penny Hart, who injured his ankle in the mock game two weeks ago, could return next week but won't play Saturday: "He had a legit ankle sprain, and it blew up pretty good. We really think that next week is the time when he can start running with us and get out on the field—the middle of next week—but he had a substantial sprain, he got hurt and really wrenched it bad, and it's just taken him a little bit longer than he had hoped."
• Quarterback Geno Smith, who left Saturday's game in Las Vegas with a concussion, was able to return to practice this week, but Carroll said they don't know yet if he'll be available for the game: "He had a really good couple of days, and he's back on the field today. We're really happy that he made it through it, so he's clear." Asked if Smith will play Saturday, Carroll said. "I don't know that yet."
• Receiver Dee Eskridge is not expected to play after returning to practice this week from the Physically Unable to Perform list, but he did have a good first week back and does have a chance to play next weekend: "It was a good week. We're all excited that he made it through—the thing I always tell you is, what happens the next day, can he come back? And he responded really well. Next week will be a really big week for him, whether he plays or not I don't know, but he'll be practicing most of the entire week, so we'll know where we stand there. I'm not setting any markers on next week's game or anything, but it would be good if he could play, it'd be great to get him on the field if it's possible. But he looks good, he's feeling it, he's excited—this is the first time he's really had a chance to really connect with our guys and all of that, so that's a big positive for us."

In non-injury personnel news, left tackle Duane Brown, who has been with the team but not practicing, was away for part of this week because of what Carroll called "an urgent family matter." Brown returned to the team today. As for Brown still not taking part in practice, Carroll was asked if there is concern about Brown not playing in the regular-season opener and said, "No. I'm not concerned about that."