Seahawks QB Geno Smith ‘did everything’ in walk-through, listed as limited
Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith was listed as limited in practice Thursday.
Smith was in pads and again leading the QB line in conditioning drills during the portion of practice open to the media. That was held after the team’s walk-through, during which coach Pete Carroll said, “He did everything.”
And that Smith was able to do anything at all in practice and walk-through were positive signs for his return to the starting job for Monday night’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lumen Field.
Smith missed Sunday’s 28-16 loss to the 49ers in Santa Clara, Calif., after suffering a groin injury in practice Dec. 7.
“We’ll see how each day goes,” Carroll said. “Go one day at a time and figure that out. … But he feels really good. He threw the heck out of the ball in the morning session, so we’ll see what happens [in practice] with the hope that he’s ready to go [against the Eagles].”
As Carroll then said, if Smith can’t, “Drew [Lock] is going to be there.”
Carroll said that, for now, the team will more evenly split reps with the first-team offense between the two in case Lock has to start, as he did against the 49ers.
“We’ll mix reps to make sure that everybody is prepared,” Carroll said. “But that’s a good sign for us. Hoping for Geno’s sake — he wants to play in the worst way.”
Smith was already dealing with a bruised elbow/triceps injury suffered Nov. 19 against the Rams before the groin injury crept up.
But Carroll said that injury no longer appears to be a hindrance.
“It’s not even a factor,” Carroll said. “As far as I know, that’s not even an issue.”
Further helping Smith’s cause is that the game was moved back from Sunday afternoon to Monday night, giving him an extra day to get better. Seattle will likely taper down its practices the rest of the week. Assuming Smith makes it through those workouts, he’ll have that much better of a chance of playing Monday.
“[We’ll] take [it] one session at a time, but he feels really good,” Carroll said. “He’s ready to go.”
Witherspoon, Adams among five to sit out
Five Seahawks sat out practice Thursday, including rookie cornerback Devon Witherspoon.
Witherspoon suffered a hip pointer just seven snaps into Sunday’s game on a play in which he broke up a pass intended for 49ers tight end George Kittle.
“He won’t work today,” Carroll said before practice. “We’re going to rest him a little bit longer, and we won’t know. We’re going to take it day-to-day with that one.”
Also sitting out were safety Jamal Adams (knee), linebacker Jordyn Brooks (ankle), linebacker/fullback Nick Bellore (knee) and offensive tackle Jason Peters (non-injury-related/personal).
Brooks rested after returning to play against the 49ers following a sprained ankle suffered against the Cowboys on Nov. 30.
Adams was again getting a rest day as he continues to work his way back following a torn quad injury suffered in the 2022 season opener.
Carroll said again Thursday that Adams may not be fully healthy until next season.
“I think he has done an extraordinary job of battling, because there was a time in the offseason when he couldn’t walk right,” Carroll said. “He kept working his way through it and just climbing back to normal. It’s been a real battle. … I think he deserves all the credit in the world [for] fighting through it and competing his tail off. He’ll continue to get better. It’s going to go all the way into next season, his rehab and his conditioning, and he’ll just get better. There’s a couple of guys that we know of that have been through the same, similar surgery, and it’s a two-year recovery to get all the way back to everything.”
Tre Brown among six limited
Along with Smith, five other Seahawks were listed as limited, including cornerback Tre Brown, who sat out against the 49ers with a heel injury. Brown’s involvement Thursday indicates he has a chance to play against the Eagles.
Others listed as limited were guard Anthony Bradford (knee), receiver Dee Eskridge (ribs), defensive end Leonard Williams (ankle) and nose tackle Jarran Reed (wrist).
