Seahawks bringing in tackle Jason Peters for visit after injuries to Charles Cross, Abe Lucas
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 05: Philadelphia Eagles Offensive Tackle Jason Peters (71) blocks Seattle Seahawks Defensive End Ziggy Ansah (94) in the first half during the NFL Playoff Game between the Seattle Seahawks and Philadelphia Eagles on January
RENTON, Wash. - The Seattle Seahawks are attempting to diagnose the problems from Sunday's season opening loss to the Los Angeles Rams while also seeking out additional help at offensive tackle after injuries to Charles Cross and Abe Lucas.
Head coach Pete Carroll confirmed on Monday that the team has spoken with 41-year-old veteran offensive tackle Jason Peters after Cross and Lucas both were unable to return to Sunday's game due to injuries. Per Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, Peters is traveling to Seattle for a visit and is expected to sign with the team's practice squad if all goes to play.
"He's not here yet. So I don't know that until he gets here. But we have talked to him," Carroll said when asked about the report.
When asked if it was a sign that the sprained toe Cross sustained was bad, Carroll noted "well, both tackles left the game. So we're a little concerned."
Peters is a nine-time Pro Bowl selection and two-time first-team All-Pro over 18 seasons played in the NFL over the last 19 years. A college tight end at Arkansas, Peters went undrafted before signing with the Buffalo Bills in 2004. He transitioned to tackle and became one of the league's best left tackles. He's played for the Bills (2004-08), Philadelphia Eagles (2009-2020), Chicago Bears (2021) and Dallas Cowboys (2022). Peters signed to the Cowboys practice squad last year before joining the roster similarly to how Seattle would add him to their mix.
Cross and Lucas both left the game in the third quarter on Sunday. Cross hobbled to the sidelines with a sprained toe and was evaluated in the medical tent before being carted to the locker room. He eventually returned to the sidelines with his helmet in hand but did not return to the game. Lucas was unable to continue due to knee soreness near his patella.
"It's a patellar area soreness," Carroll said. "He's had all of the tests and we've seen all the stuff and there's nothing to do for it right now."
Carroll didn't have much for updates on either Cross or Lucas on Wednesday.
"We're going to go day-to-day once we get back Wednesday and see where we are," he said. "Abe came walking in today in the office and he was walking all right now and so we'll hold a good thought.Charles is making it around but it's going to take a little bit before we know."
Stone Forsythe took over for Cross at left tackle with Jake Curhan filling for Lucas at right tackle against the Rams. Both sacks allowed came in the fourth quarter with the backups in the game. However, Carroll said the injuries to the tackles didn't serve as the reason the offense struggled overall against Los Angeles.
"That didn't really even show up as an issue until late when they really started to crank it after us," Carroll said. "Stone held up pretty well. Jake got his licks in there and they did OK. There's a couple rushes right at the end of the game that we got rolled back a little bit."
Outside of Forsythe and Curhan, the Seahawks don't have any additional tackle depth on their roster. Greg Eiland – who spent time on the practice squad last year and was with the team through training camp – was re-signed to the practice squad on Monday for some additional depth. However, Eiland has played mostly guard recently with the Seahawks, though he was a tackle at Mississippi State. Quarterback Holton Ahlers was released to clear a spot on the practice squad for Eiland.
Injury Notes:
– Cornerback Devon Witherspoon will practice with the team again this week with the expectation that he'll be ready to make his debut next Sunday against the Detroit Lions.
"That’s how we are approaching it and we’ll see if that works out," Carroll said. "Got to get through the days."
Witherspoon has been out since early August with a hamstring injury that forced him to miss the entire preseason and Sunday's season opener.
"He’s anxious to go," Carroll said. "He practiced really hard last week. If you watched him, you would’ve thought he could play, we wanted to make sure we got through another week of preparation, so that’s where we are."
Safety Jamal Adams will return to practice this week as well for the first time since his injury last year in the season opener against the Denver Broncos. Adams has been working with the team in walkthroughs and doing conditioning work off to the side for the last two weeks.
"We’ll take it one day at a time," Carroll said. "He's going to have a limited amount of plays as he gets back and re-enters. But he will get individual work and start getting some of the basic stuff just to get him back out there."