Injuries can ruin a season for even the most-promising NFL teams and this 2024 Seattle Seahawks club is feeling the sting of it early in the schedule. Heading into their Week 4 Monday Night Football matchup with the Detroit Lions, the Seahawks are going to be missing several critical players, especially along their defensive front-seven.
The league has a phrase for unfortunate situations like this, and they call it next-man-up. Injuries are a part of the game and so head coach Mike Macdonald no choice but to rely on some backups to step up and have a strong game if an upset against the Lions is in the cards. Here are five or so key players on that list.
Dre'Mont Jones and Derick Hall
The edge rotation will be particularly short this week, as both starters Boye Mafe (knee) and Uchenna Nwosu (knee) have been ruled out. That means Dre'Mont Jones and Derick Hall will be starting in their place against Detroit's arguably-league-best offensive line. Hall has done well so far this year, earning the highest pass rush grade from PFF (70.6) on the team.
However, Jones has continued to deliver disappointing results after moving out to the edge. His pass rush grade is a perfectly-average 60.0 so far. Today would be a good day for Jones to step up his game and start earning the lucrative contract he signed last March.
Jarran Reed and Johnathan Hankins
Seattle's interior defensive line group is in equally bad shape. Both Leonard Williams (rib) and Byron Murphy II (hamstring) have been ruled out against the Lions. That puts the onus on long-time veterans Johnathan Hankins and Jarran Reed to deliver those critical interior pressures against an elite Detroit front line.
They do have one advantage working in their favor, at least. The Lions' star center Frank Ragnow is out this week with a pectoral injury. That means Hankins and Reed will likely be facing Graham Glasgow, who would be moving over from left guard. Glasgow is no slouch, but he's also no Frank Ragnow. Dan Campbell could also decide to start Michael Niese at center. However, he has only played one offensive snap in his NFL career.
Stone Forsythe and Friends
Missing the team's top four pass rushers is hard enough, but the Seahawks' biggest hole is actually on the other side of the line of scrimmage, where they're down to their third-string right tackle. With Abe Lucas on the PUP list and George Fant on IR, Seattle has had to roll with Stone Forsythe at this spot.
While he's been better than expected, the Seahawks wouldn't have brought in Jason Peters for a visit this week if they were satisfied. Forsythe also has the toughest matchup this week as he attempts to block NFL sack leader Aidan Hutchinson. Obviously, Forsythe can't be expected to do it alone and will need help in the form of extra blockers on that side. Third-string running back Kenny McIntosh is the team's highest graded pass blocker outside of left tackle Charles Cross, but Zach Charbonnet and the tight ends have bombed in this department so far.
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