Neither the Seattle Seahawks nor the Detroit Lions are going to be at full strength for their clash on Monday Night Football this week. The biggest name that will be out for Detroit will be starting center Frank Ragnow, who has a torn pec and will miss at least one game. Tight end Sam LaPorta is not 100% with an ankle injury but he appears on track to play.
As for Seattle, this roster is really hurting heading into Week 4, especially their defensive front-seven, which could be missing multiple starters against the Lions. Here's the latest we know on the status for Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy, Uchenna Nwosu and Boye Mafe, as well as starting running back Ken Walker.
Kenneth Walker III
There's not much good news to report today, so we'll begin with what little sunshine there is. It appears that starting running back Ken Walker is on track to return to the lineup after missing the last two games with an oblique injury he sustained in the season opener against the Denver Broncos. Walker has been listed as limited at practice so far this week, with Friday's session just being a walk-through.
Leonard Williams
Now the bad news: Seattle's defensive line is so banged up that head coach Mike Macdonald might have to ask a few of their larger traveling fans to come down out of the stands and help out on Monday night. First off, Big Cat Leonard Williams looks on track to sit out this week, as he's been a non-participant at practice so far. Williams is dealing with a rib or "midsection thing" as Macdonald put it he suffered against the Miami Dolphins.
Byron Murphy II
The Seahawks' other star interior defensive lineman, first-round draft pick Byron Murphy II also appears to be heading for a "ruled out" designation. Murphy suffered a hamstring injury against Miami and has not practiced yet this week, either.
Seattle's roster moves this week included re-signing Matt Gotel and also bringing defensive tackle Quinton Bohanna back to the practice squad. That indicates they're at least preparing for the possibility that two interior linemen will be out against the Lions.
Boye Mafe
The Seahawks' edge rotation doesn't seem much better than the iDL group, right now. Seattle's top pass rusher so far this season has been third-year outside linebacker Boye Mafe, who has three sacks and 11 pressures through three games. Unfortunately, Mafe was also dinged up against the Dolphins. He has a knee injury and was listed as a DNP both Thursday and Friday on Seattle's injury report.
Uchenna Nwosu
They may also be missing their starter on the other side of the defensive line. Edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu has been out with a sprained MCL since the team's last preseason game of the year. Macdonald told reporters last week he was optimistic about Nwosu's chances to return against Detroit, but it's not trending that way. Nwosu has not practiced this week, either.
With their schedule one-day long this week, the team still has one more practice to go through later today, so we'll have to wait and see if any of them will be upgraded.
Final Seahawks Week 4 injury report
Walker is good to go on Monday night, but Williams, Murphy, Nwosu and Mafe have all been ruled out. That amounts to a pretty devastating blow for the Seahawks defense, as that's probably their top four pass rushers - and pass rushing is what they do best. If Mike Macdonald can find a way to shut down Detroit's offense without them, he really is unstoppable.
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