Exactly one month ago, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson had surgery to repair a ruptured tendon and a comminuted fracture-dislocation in his middle finger. And to my shock and awe, Seattle’s season didn’t immediately descend from the sky while engulfed in smoldering flames.
Perennial understudy Geno Smith has filled in admirably in Wilson’s absence, and while the Seahawks currently sit in the basement of the AFC West with a 3-5 record, there’s still plenty of season left to correct course and make some noise in the playoffs. But that’s contingent upon Wilson returning to the field, and considering he returned to practice on Monday—per ESPN—it’s looking like the eight-time Pro Bowler will be back in the starting lineup on Sunday against the Green Bay Unvaccinated Liars.
“This is a remarkable story of recovery and really of a guy’s intent that he was going to do this and pull it off,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. “He’s way, way ahead of schedule and we just came off the practice field and he threw the ball all over the place. He did really well for the first time out in a limited amount of plays. [...] We knew that Russ was going to go for it. We didn’t know if his body could respond, but it did.”
While Seattle faithful wait with bated breath for their lord and savior to return to the field, the elephant in the room is that there’s a three-time Pro Bowl receiver who just got fired on his day off that would add an intriguing dynamic to an arsenal that already includes Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters graduate D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. So can we expect the Seahawks to pull the trigger and put in a waiver claim?
“You’ll have to wait and see how this all goes,” Carroll told reporters on Monday. “I didn’t say yes, or I didn’t say no. That’s just ‘cause—you’ll see.”
If OBJ does end up joining Seattle, it would finally give Wilson one of the greatest early Christmas presents ever (aside from Thanksgiving turkey that’s actually moist): The additional receiver he’s been clamoring for for what seems like forever now. It could also help resurrect Beckham’s career after spending the last three seasons being held hostage in the Cleveland Brown’s basement.
Personally, I’m here for it, but we’ll see what happens on Tuesday.