The Seattle Seahawks’ season went from being in a dicey situation to a downright catastrophe.
Thursday night in the Pacific Northwest star quarterback Russell Wilson left the team’s 26-17 home loss to the Los Angeles Rams with a finger injury that was originally thought to be no more than a bad sprain.
Rams All-Pro Aaron Donald was the perpetrator of the nightmare moment for Seattle.
Lion Heart. pic.twitter.com/rgKNk7Qit5
— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) October 9, 2021
It’s A Wrap For Russ
Upon further review, it was worse than expected. Wilson suffered a tendon rupture and fracture-dislocation of the middle finger of his right hand. Surgery was performed and he’s expected to be out for six weeks, but no definitive timetable for a return was given. The team does still believe he’ll return this season.
Head coach Pete Carroll knows that his team is now swimming upstream without legs. The Super Bowl-winning head coach spoke on Friday from the team’s facility.
“Nobody should question his toughness. Nobody should question his resolve,” Carroll insisted. “He’d have gone (back) in if he could have thrown the football and held onto it. … He would have done it, and anybody that says otherwise doesn’t know what they’re talking about. You can deal with all kinds of stuff in your hands and you can still throw a football, and he tried last night and did not have the power and the control of the ball.
“So I think if he could have he would have. Let’s be really clear about that. There’s no doubt. There’s nobody out there that can challenge his will and his desire and his toughness about carrying on last night. Russell is one of the great healers of all time, and he’ll do what’s necessary to be back as soon as possible.”
Geno Smith’s Redemption Call
In the meantime the Seahawks will turn to former 2013 second-round pick Geno Smith in Wilson’s absence. Smith’s eight-year NFL career has been considered one big underachievement. He started his career on the wrong foot with the Jets and never recovered. This is his moment to show the football world that he can play and be a valuable backup in the league.
Sources: Seahawks are bracing for Russell Wilson to miss at least a month and possibly 6-8 weeks with his ruptured middle-finger tendon that likely requires surgery. Seattle thinking about Wilson’s long-term health. Barring an unexpectedly swift recovery, it’s Geno Smith’s show.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) October 8, 2021
Losing Iron Man
The injury snaps Wilson’s 149 consecutive starts streak (sixth-longest in NFL history). The eight-time Pro Bowl quarterback hasn’t missed a start since he entered the league as a third-round pick in the 2012 NFL draft. So this is uncharted waters for a Seattle team that was already struggling.
Gone are the days of the “Legion of Boom” shutting teams down, so winning defensive struggles in Wilson’s absence is not an option. The only player from those defenses that still remains is middle linebacker Bobby Wagner.
This team has been built upon Russell Wilson’s back. Best-case scenario is that the year won’t be a total disaster, but the world is about to see what a Seahawks squad without the great maestro looks and smells like.
Now they have to lean on an underachieving journeyman in Smith to try and fill the shoes of a guy who puts on his Superman cape weekly.
https://twitter.com/Kofie/status/1446305915230203913?s=20
The NFC West is a tough division and features the 4-0 Cardinals, 4-1 Rams, and 2-2 Niners. By the time Wilson is eligible to return there probably won’t be any reason for him to suit up.
The Future For DangerRuss?
With rumors of him being traded running wild in the offseason, Wilson remained loyal to the franchise that believed in him when so many others didn’t. One has to wonder what will happen this time around.
Seahawks fans would burn their ears off before they would listen to anyone tell them that Thursday night might have been the final time Russell Wilson takes a snap in a Seattle uniform. They need to at least keep a match on hand, because the football gods have spoken, and Russ needs some rest. He will be doing a deep evaluation of his circumstances over these next six weeks.
