RENTON -- Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney and linebacker Mychal Kendricks have both been ruled out Sunday's game against the Carolina Panthers.
Clowney had initially been listed as questionable as well as he works to recover from the flu and an ongoing core muscle injury. However, the team downgraded Clowney to out before leaving for the airport on Friday afternoon.
"Just judging from how other guys have recovered, the couple days from this point forward he should bounce back pretty good but it hasn't been a great week for him at all so we need to just wait and see," head coach Pete Carroll said after practice.
Kendricks will miss a second straight game due to a hamstring strain as Cody Barton will get another shot to start at strong-side linebacker.
Kendricks had the hamstring injury entering the team's Monday night win over the Minnesota Vikings two weeks ago. However, he was unable to finish the game as the injury became a bigger problem as the night progressed. He was held out of last week's game against the Los Angeles Rams and was ruled out for the Panthers game on Friday.
Kendricks was listed as limited in practice on Wednesday as he tried to see if his hamstring had improved enough but found out that it wasn't where it needed to be.
"He just tried to see what he can do and he's not ready yet," Carroll said.
Defensive end Ziggy Ansah, cornerback Shaquill Griffin and tight end Luke Willson are all listed as questionable to play Sunday.
Ansah is working to get enough strength back into his shoulder after a stinger sustained against the Vikings forced him to miss the Rams game last week.
"He's working. We'll see. We're going to take every day all the way to game time for Ziggy," Carroll said.
Willson has missed the last three games with his injury while Griffin's hamstring became an issue coming out of the loss to the Rams.
"He's got a hamstring thing that just popped up here the last week and it's bothering him a little bit," Carroll said of Griffin. "We're just making sure that we're managing him through it.
If Griffin can’t play, the team would likely turn to Akeem King as their starting left cornerback in his place. King has moved into the team’s nickel cornerback role since the release of Jamar Taylor last month.
Meanwhile, Willson is pushing Carroll to get back in the lineup.
"Luke is doing really well. He's wearing me out. We'll see what happens here on game day," Carroll said.
Neither Willson or Griffin were able to practice the final two days of the week.
Carroll said that the team will activate offensive lineman Ethan Pocic off injured reserve in time for Sunday's game. He'll take the spot of Rashaad Penny on the roster, who will be placed on injured reserve.
"We're going to get Ethan up. He's going to come up this week. He's had a really good return to us," Carroll said. "Glad to have Ethan back. He's been a really versatile player for us. He's worked really hard to get back. He feels great. Three weeks putting it together so he's ready to go."
Pocic has the ability to play at all five positions on the offensive line, which provides a great deal of flexibility to Seattle's offensive line depth. He was placed on injured reserve in October after missing a few games due to an injury that was listed as a mid-back issue at the time. A former second-round pick, Pocic has made 16 starts for the Seahawks at guard during his time with the team.
Running back C.J. Prosise will get more involved in the offense as the team looks for an alternative option to replace Penny, who torn the ACL in his left knee against the Rams last Sunday.
"He's jacked up. He's really fired up," Carroll said of Prosise. "Just everything about him. He's so fired up to help this team and be part of it and to know the whole week that he's in the mix and he's playing right off the bat in the game. I'm fired up for him too but you could just tell he had a little bounce in his step about it. I'ts been hard. It's been frustrating for him and he gets to let it rip now so I'm really excited about him."
Carroll was also asked if the team will attempt to put waiver claims on either Terrell Suggs or Janoris Jenkins, who were released by the Arizona Cardinals and New York Giants, respectively, on Friday. He echoed comments he's made previously about whether they'd be interested in available players by saying "we're competing always." However, he said he didn't have any knowledge of it and that General Manager John Schneider would be the one to handle that.
"I don't know anything about it right now but John will be all over it with his guys," he said.
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Photo Credit: PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - NOVEMBER 24: Greg Ward #84 of the Philadelphia Eagles is tackled by Mychal Kendricks #56 of the Seattle Seahawks after catching a first quarter pass at Lincoln Financial Field on November 24, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)