The Seattle Seahawks listed starting left tackle Duane Brown (knee) and backup left tackle George Fant (groin) as questionable for Sunday’s divisional round matchup with the Green Bay Packers.
Additionally, left guard Mike Iupati (neck) is doubtful, which means Jamarco Jones will likely start in his place once again.
If all three players are unable to go, Seattle will have no choice but to turn to Chad Wheeler to start at left tackle. Wheeler spent the majority of the regular season on Seattle’s practice squad, getting recalled earlier this week, and he has not played in an NFL game this season.
However, Wheeler has made 19 NFL starts in his career, and spent two years in offensive line coach Mike Solari’s system while with the Giants, so he’s familiar with the protection schemes.
“He’s played for Mike [Solari] and Mike knows him real well,” coach Pete Carroll said on Friday. “He’s real confident if we need him he’ll be able to jump up. He’s worked on the left side for us, almost the whole time.”
There’s no doubt Wheeler having to play on Sunday would be bad news for the Seahawks, who have already dealt with so many injuries up front, but Wheeler is far more experienced than most practice squad promotions, and while most of his NFL experience has come at right tackle, Carroll doesn’t seem worried about having him step up on the left side.
It’s never easy to make your season debut in such a crucial environment, especially on a new team, but Carroll’s messaging to Wheeler is to just do what he is capable of doing, and not to try to overdo it.
“We don’t want to overtry, try to do stuff that’s not within his wheelhouse,” Carroll continued. “He’s a good smart football player. He’s been in the system and he knows what we’re asking of him. He’s been really solid throughout, the main thing is do just do what he’s capable of doing and not overreach.”
The Seahawks will certainly hope that at least one of Brown, Fant or Iupati can suit up on Sunday, pushing Wheeler into a reserve role, but if worst comes to worst his familiarity with the system and prior NFL experience at least makes him an acceptable option on Seattle’s starting line.
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