While the Seattle Seahawks remain hopeful Abraham Lucas will be designated to return to practice in the near future from the PUP list, the team will have to wait at least one more week for him to bolster a struggling offensive line.
Speaking with reporters on Friday in the aftermath of a 36-24 loss to the 49ers, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald didn't offer much of an update on Lucas, who has not practiced or played in a game since last December and underwent knee surgery in January.
"There's still not a definite timeline with Abe," Macdonald said. "We haven't designated him to return, so this week would be out of the question, but hopefully it's soon."
As an insurance policy for Lucas, Seattle signed veteran tackle George Fant to a two-year contract in March, but he suffered a knee injury of his own in a season-opening win over Denver. After trying to work his way back into action, the team placed him on injured reserve in Week 3, leaving them down to their third string tackle in Stone Forsythe.
Since Fant suffered his injury, Forsythe has started the past five games, yielding a league-worst 35 pressures while being tasked with blocking some of the best rushers in the game, including Aidan Hutchinson and Nick Bosa. On the plus side, those pressures have only turned into two sacks and four quarterback hits, as Geno Smith has been able to impressively evade rushers despite somewhat shaking pass protection in front of him.
Two weeks ago, the Seahawks brought back 42-year old Jason Peters on the practice squad as extra depth both at tackle and guard. Now entering his third week of practice, he may soon be ready to suit up for a game if needed, though it remains to be seen whether the team plans to mix him into the lineup or not with Lucas and Fant still sidelined.
Once Lucas has made enough progress to return to practice, the Seahawks will have a 21-day window to activate him to the 53-man roster. As it stands right now, that won't happen until at least after a Week 7 road date with the Falcons, if not longer given his still indefinite timeline.
