Fans of the Seattle Seahawks are likely having to learn a new code when it comes to injuries with new head coach Mike Macdonald. Macdonald and the team do not give improper information about injuries, mind you, as much as giving as little information as possible. Plus, the players we see participating in practice early in the week might still miss the next game.
That is probably the case ahead of Week 5 when Seattle plays the New York Giants. The team did a walkthrough practice on Wednesday, and Boye Mafe and Leonard Williams, both of whom missed Week 4's loss to the Detroit Lions, participated. So did Uchenna Nwosu, and Nwosu has not yet played a down of football this year.
One player who did not do the walkthrough is rookie Byron Murphy II. The likelihood is that Murphy will miss several weeks of games, but we might not know what specifically is happening with him until close to each game. That is how Mike Macdonald likes it.
Seattle Seahawks initial injury report for Week 5 likely not to be confused with reality
In fact, the implication could be that Macdonald simply doesn't know how healthy his players are. That does not seem logical, however, so the greater chance is that Macdonald simply doesn't want to tell us. That is fair.
For instance, when asked in a talk with the media ahead of practice on Wednesday about the health of safety Julian Love, who was injured in the first half against Detroit and did not return, Macdonald said, "I think he’s doing OK. I haven’t talked to him in the last x amount of hours or so, but I think he’s alright." That just drips with sarcasm.
12s might see a lot of names on the Wednesday injury report (in fact, once that is announced, we will update this page to reflect that), but that has no indication of whether certain players will play or miss Week 5. In Week 4, the initial injury report listed 12 players as either missing practice or being limited. Seven of them played in the game.
Linebacker Jerome Baker was listed as questionable in the final injury report of Week 4 - a designation that normally implies a guy will play - but he missed his second straight game. There is simply nearly nothing that can be learned through a walkthrough, and even the injured can participate in it. Thursday's injury report might give us a greater understanding of where players are in terms of health.
