After a less than illustrious start to the season, some good news for the Seattle Seahawks: receiver Sidney Rice practiced without any limitations Wednesday, improving chances that his Seahawks debut will take place at this weekend’s game against the Arizona Cardinals .
Rice was sidelined with a shoulder injury at training camp, damaging his labrum. It was sore luck for Rice, who only signed a five-year contract with the Seahawks in July, yet the strength has now reportedly returned to his shoulder, and the Seahawks are hoping this stabilizes.
Without their No. 1 receiver, the Seahawks offense has been noticeably toothless. A 33-17 loss to the 49ers in Week 1 was followed by a demoralising 24-0 shutout at Pittsburgh on Sunday. Seattle’s receiving threat has been poor: their longest completion in the Pittsburgh game was for 17 yards.
If anything, Rice’s return could distract defenses to create more opportunities for receiver Mike Williams and tight end Zach Miller. Neither player was targeted on a pass in the first half of the Pittsburgh game.
Meanwhile, Seahawks quarterback Tarvaris Jackson has made few plays downfield. His longest pass has been the 55-yard touchdown to Doug Baldwin in Week 1, but this came off a short slant that suddenly became a big gain. That said, he has only been intercepted once this season.
Meanwhile, Seahawks fullback Michael Robinson (ankle) will not practice on Wednesday, but expects to make the field on Sunday, and linebacker Malcolm Smith (hamstring) will practice after missing last week’s game. Cornerback Byron Maxwell (ankle) and offensive tackle Jarriel King (ankle) won’t be able to play.
