Marquise Blair out for year with fractured patella; Dee Eskridge returning

Seattle Seahawks v Indianapolis Colts

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - SEPTEMBER 12: D'Wayne Eskridge #1 of the Seattle Seahawks breaks a tackle from Darius Leonard #53 of the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on September 12, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)Photo: Getty Images

RENTON -- Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said Wednesday that Marquise Blair is out for the rest of the season after fracturing his patella late in Monday night's loss to the New Orleans Saints.

Blair went down on the final offensive drive of the game for the Saints while covering receiver Tre'Quan Smith.

"He's getting operated on today, I believe, today or tomorrow," Carroll said while confirming that Blair's season is over.

It's the same knee that Blair had a torn ACL last year. Blair had been rotating at nickel cornerback Ugo Amadi through the first seven games of the season. Amadi will now take over that role full-time.

The Seahawks expected to see some players returning to action this week.

Defensive end Darrell Taylor and left guard Damien Lewis were both full participants in practice on Wednesday after missing Monday night's game due to neck and shoulder injuries, respectively.

"The early indications is Darrell is really ready to get back in," Carroll said prior to practice on Wednesday. "Damien, that's the way they're talking, they're really counting on him making it back to play, which is a nice boost for us."

Wide receiver Dee Eskridge is set to rejoin the team on Thursday after spending time in Florida seeing a specialist to help him with issues stemming from a concussion sustained Week 1 against the Indianapolis Colts. Carroll said Eskridge was having some effects with his vision and the trip was to help get him through the problems and healed in order to return to action.

"He's flying in tonight," Carroll said. "He had a big training in rehab program that he went through in Florida that we thought was necessary. The reports coming out are that he's in great shape and ready to go; I don't know what that means until we get on the field. If he's cleared tomorrow, then we'll start to get some work from him. And I can't tell you what that means.

"He did have some issues from the concussion that he had, some visual things that he was working on and that's what he's been focusing on. It's a visual training program that was really specialized for his situation that we wanted to take full advantage of."

Eskridge spent multiple weeks trying to get back from his concussion before the team elected to place him on injured reserve in early October. He practiced prior to his time on injured reserve but was unable to move beyond the lingering issues from the concussion. He's missed the necessary three games on the reserve list and is eligible to return to action when he gets back up to speed.

"Really obvious potential to be a factor and a player and a guy that can help us," Carroll said of what they saw from Eskridge prior to the injury. "I've seen him enough in practice and the work that we've done to know that his ability, his explosion, his power, his strength, decision-making, his confidence, his hands, all those things are right on point."

Right tackle Brandon Shell is working through a sore ankle after he aggravated an injury that forced him to miss time a few weeks ago.

"He's a little sore," Carroll said. "His ankle is a little sore. Both ankles were a little off, so we just need to see what the next couple of days means. He's getting around fine and all that, he's not hobbled by it, but we've just got to give him a chance to recover."

The Seahawks released backup tackle Cedric Ogbuehi prior to Monday's game and he's subsequently signed with the Baltimore Ravens. That would leave either undrafted rookie Jake Curhan or versatile backup Jamarco Jones to potentially serve at Shell's spot if he is unable to play against the Jacksonville Jaguars this Sunday.

Shell and Blair were the only two players on the roster to not practice because of injuries on Wednesday. Blair will be moved to injured reserve and no longer be listed on the report eventually.

Injury Report:

Photo: Curtis Crabtree

Photo: Curtis Crabtree

Photo Credit: INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - SEPTEMBER 12: D'Wayne Eskridge #1 of the Seattle Seahawks breaks a tackle from Darius Leonard #53 of the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on September 12, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)


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