RENTON -- The Seahawks are expecting to be without first-round pick L.J. Collier for at least a few weeks after sustaining an ankle sprain in practice on Tuesday.
Head coach Pete Carroll said on Thursday that Collier will miss "some weeks" while recovering from an ankle injury that is a bit out of the norm.
"He's got a badly sprained ankle and it's going to be a little bit. It's unfortunate," Carroll said. "It was a really an awkward position that he got tangled up in so we'll have to take some time here to figure it out. It's going to take some weeks though."
Collier, the 29th overall pick in this spring's NFL Draft, was working with the second-team defensive unit against the No. 1 offense during two-minute drills. He appeared to get tangled up with an offensive lineman and fell down behind the play. He immediately tried to get to his feet but quickly ended up back on the turf. He was able to eventually get to his feet and hobble to the sidelines while heavily favoring his right leg. After being evaluated by trainers, he hopped on the back of a cart and was taken into the locker room.
"It's not a garden variety sprain at all. It's a little bit unusual one, upper part of his foot. It's an unusual one for us. We really haven't had a guy that's sprained his ankle just like this so that's why we're going to be really slow to make sure we know what we're doing with this. It's a rare sprain."
Carroll wouldn't offer any firmer thoughts on the time Collier will miss due to the injury. At the least it appears as though Collier will miss most, if not all, of the preseason. If the injury is significant enough, he could become a candidate for the in-season injured reserve list, which would mean missing at least eight weeks of the season.
Despite the injury to Collier, Carroll said he believes the team still has enough capable defensive ends on the roster for the time being.
"We are always looking," Carroll said. "That hurts our depth though a little bit. We do have guys that fill in and play in the five-technique spot. Quinton Jefferson is doing a nice job and also Rasheem Green can go over there too. I don’t think we are out of it now with numbers wise, we are okay. We have to be careful, we have to keep it together now."
Jarran Reed, Ethan Pocic scrap in first scuffle of camp:
If you get into a fight on the field during an NFL game, you get ejected. That reality was hammered home by head coach Pete Carroll on Thursday as defensive tackle Jarran Reed and guard Ethan Pocic were tossed out of practice after a brief altercation during team drills.
Pocic was pulled from the ensuing pileup on one side and Reed yanked out of the fray on the other as tempers flared. Pocic had thrown his helmet to the ground in anger after punches flew in the short-lived scrap.
"A couple guys got thrown out of practice today," Carroll said. "It's really important for us to recognize how devastating that can be in a game when you only got so many guys and you lose one position and it change the whole complexion of the game for you. We cannot resort to that at any time so I was pleased to throw them out and fine them and the whole thing."
Notes:
-- Safety Marquise Blair (hamstring) took part in team drills for the first time in training camp. Despite being activated from the PUP list last week, Blair had not been able to take part in full team activities until Thursday. Blair intercepted Russell Wilson on a pass to tight end Ed Dickson in his full day back on the field. Linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven (sports hernia) was still held out of team drills despite coming off PUP on the same day as Blair last week.
-- The Seahawks added wide receiver Nyqwan Murray to fill the roster spot created by waiving receiver Daniel Williams on Wednesday.
-- Left tackle Duane Brown was excused from practice to tend to a family matter. George Fant took snaps at left tackle with the first-team offense in place of Brown.
-- Left guard Mike Iupati did not practice for a second straight practice due to a strained foot. Pocic took Iupati's snaps with the first-team offense until he was thrown out of practice.
"Mike had a mild sprained foot," Carroll said. "He's doing great. It shouldn't be too long. It's keeping him out right now but he's in pretty good shape. He's out of the boot and all that kind of stuff already so he's doing well."
-- Tight end Justin Johnson appeared to suffer an Achilles injury in practice. Johnson had released off the line of scrimmage and caught a check down throw and as he turned to run, Johnson immediately began laboring without contract and went to the turf after a couple of steps.
"I'm afraid that he might have got an Achilles today. Just one of those freaky injuries. He's out in open space and takes a step and that pop happens. We've never been able to explain why that happens. It's somewhat of a devastating injury cause it takes so long. It takes nine months or whatever to get back and if that's what it is, he'll be working at it for some time. So it's very unfortunate."
With Tyrone Swoopes also sidelined with a foot/ankle injury, the Seahawks are a bit short-handed at tight end and could look to add to the position shortly.
-- S Lano Hill (hip), LB Justin Currie (hamstring), DE Ezekiel Ansah (shoulder), DT Demarcus Christmas (back/PUP), G Phil Haynes (sports hernia/PUP), TE Tyrone Swoopes (ankle), CB Davante Davis and S Jalen Harvey also did not practice on Thursday.
Photo Credit: CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - NOVEMBER 25: Head coach Pete Carroll of the Seattle Seahawks watches his team warm up before their game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on November 25, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)