It didn’t take long for the Seahawks offensive line to get shaken up. Right tackle Abe Lucas has been placed on injured reserve due to knee soreness, knocking him out until at least Week 7. Meanwhile, left tackle Charles Cross is day to day with turf toe and did not practice yesterday – an indication he’ll also be out on Sunday against the Lions.
Since the team learned that both Cross and Lucas are injured they have been very busy on this front. Seattle has signed two offensive linemen to their practice squad, bringing back Greg Eiland as well as signing 41-year old veteran Jason Peters. Yesterday, the Seahawks signed two more offensive linemen to their active roster, poaching offensive tackle Raiqwon O’Neal off the Buccaneers practive squad as well as tackle/guard combo McClendon Curtis off the Raiders practice squad.
Let’s break it all down and see if we can project who will wind up starting at each spot this week. Here’s a review of the team’s options and depth at each position – assuming Cross is out as well as Lucas.
Left tackle:
Charles Cross- Stone Forsythe
- Raiqwon O’Neal
- Jason Peters
The next man up on the depth chart after Cross is Stone Forsythe, which doesn’t inspire a ton of confidence given his experience level. The former sixth-round draft pick has only one start under his belt and has only been on the field for a total of 149 offensive snaps in his career. If head coach Pete Carroll doesn’t like Forsythe’s chances against Lions second-year edge Aidan Hutchinson, he may roll with one of the new tackles he brought in this week.
The nine-time Pro Bowler Jason Peters is the most-logical option to start here given his extensive experience at left tackle (200+ pro starts). However, it sounds like Peters won’t be ready to go until next week. That makes Raiqwon O’Neal the next-best option on the blindside for Seattle against Detroit. He played two years at Rutgers then transferred to UCLA last season, where he started 13 games at left tackle.
Prediction: Our best guess is that Forsythe will begin the game starting. However, it won’t take much for Carroll to pull him in favor of O’Neal.
Right tackle:
Abe Lucas- Jake Curhan
- McClendon Curtis
- Greg Eiland
On the other side we know for sure that Lucas is out, and this spot is the far more concerning one. While Forsythe somehow graded out well in pass protection according to PFF, Jake Curhan put in another poor grade, getting a 53.0 mark in pass blocking, the second lowest on the team. Curhan did well in run blocking (72.7) but that won’t help Geno Smith when Aidan Hutchinson lines up on that side and comes crashing into the backfield to pressure his throwing arm.
Next up on the depth chart is McLendon Curtis, one of several Senior Bowl darlings that Seattle was widely expected to pick on Day 3 of the draft. Curtis is one of the most highly-regarded undrafted rookie linemen in the league. While he doesn’t have Curhan’s experience, we’re willing to bet that his ceiling is higher.
Seattle also has Greg Eiland as a distant third option. He may be elevated from the practice squad this week for depth but it’s unlikely he will play significant snaps unless the other options both fail miserably or get injured.
Prediction: We’re going to go out on a limb here and pick Curtis to start over Curhan – who was the team’s worst offensive lineman last season and would be their weakest link up front if he does wind up starting.
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