RENTON -- The Seattle Seahawks will see the return of safety Jamal Adams and defensive end Rasheem Green to the lineup this Sunday against the Buffalo Bills.
Defensive end Carlos Dunlap will also make his debut after being acquired in a trade from the Cincinnati Bengals two weeks ago.
However, the Seahawks will be without six players -- including running back Chris Carson -- due to injuries.
Adams was limited in practice throughout the week but was not listed on the team's final injury report after missing the last four games due to a groin injury. He appeared set to have a chance to return last week only to have an illness keep him from practicing until Friday and delaying his return until now.
"We will not limit him at all," head coach Pete Carroll said of Adams. "He took everything this week. He reported coming off the rehab really fit. So he looked great this week. He was flying and I don't see any reason to restrict him at all.
"He just makes things happen and we're really excited about his return and also about the way we're able to play him and the positions we can put him in."
Green has missed the last six games after sustaining a neck stinger in the season opener against the Atlanta Falcons. Green was placed on injured reserve in September and will need to be activated prior to Sunday's game in Buffalo. Seattle is carrying an open roster spot currently that Green is expected to fill.
"Rasheem had a fantastic couple of weeks here. He's in great shape," Carroll said. "So he's ready to get out there and play. He worked really hard in his rehab and return and was in great shape before we started last week so he looks really good."
Green's return plus Dunlap's addition will be a welcome boost for Seattle's defense.
"Carlos had a really, really complete week," Carroll said. "He was ready to go right at the beginning of the first day in the walkthrough and he had already studied up over the weekend and stuff came real easy to them. So he was able to go out and play really clean. That's your concern. Is he confused? Is it slowing down the new system at all? But he's played enough ball and he understands the principles and they do fit the way he's liked to play in the past and so the transition was nothing. It was seamless.
"Really looking forward, he's been all lit up and having fun with everybody during the week and trying to figure out how this thing works and all. He's gonna be excited to see the weekend and the build up to the game with our team and I'm counting on him showing and doing well.
Defensive end Benson Mayowa joins Carson as one of the six players who will miss the game in Buffalo. Mayowa will miss a second straight game after an ankle injury sustained against the Cardinals forced him to miss last week's game against the San Francisco 49ers and will keep him out on Sunday.
"Benson has a high-ankle sprain that he's dealing with him and he thought he was coming along a little bit faster," Carroll said. "High-ankles can sometimes be that. You feel okay until you really push and really try to call on it and when asked he wasn't able to get back so we'll wait it out and hopefully through the course of the weekend into next week he'll have a chance to get back out."
Carson and backup running back Carlos Hyde will both miss a second straight game due to injuries from the Arizona game. Carson was expected to be tested during practice on Friday to see if he had any chance of returning from a mid-foot sprain. However, Carson didn't end up doing anything at practice and was declared out by the team. Hyde is out due to a hamstring strain.
"Today was gonna be the day we tried to decide where he was and they didn't feel like it was right to bring him out there today so we got leave him home, take care of him, get him ready for next week," Carroll said of Carson.
While Carson and Hyde will miss another game, Travis Homer and DeeJay Dallas will carry the load in the backfield. Homer is set to have a more increased role this week after battling through a knee injury for last week's game against the 49ers. Homer had just one carry last week against San Francisco but will be more involved in this week's game plan.
Additionally, the team could call up Alex Collins from the practice squad to serve as additional depth at the position.
"He's worked hard enough and we know him well enough that we're very comfortable with him playing this weekend," Carroll said.
Starting cornerback Shaquill Griffin and nickel cornerback Ugo Amadi will be sidelined for a second straight week as well. Both players are dealing with hamstring injuries while Griffin also is recovering from a concussion out of the Arizona game.
Tre Flowers and Quinton Dunbar will man the starting cornerback spots in Griffin's absence with D.J. Reed getting the nickel opportunities in place of Amadi.
Left guard Mike Iupati will miss another game due to ongoing back issues as Jordan Simmons will start a third game in his place.
"Mike felt really good yesterday and today. So he's just got to get back out of it," Carroll said. "It depends on if he can withstand the workload when we get back to going. There's a really good chance that he could be doing that next week. And we'll have to see how he responds to see if there's any long-term effects. We don't know that yet."
Where's "Snacks?"
Damon "Snacks" Harrison remains on the Seahawks' practice squad and has yet to be called up for a game in uniform since signing with the team last month.
Why?
Well, a couple reasons. First, the Seahawks aren't in desperate need of help at defensive tackle at the moment. Jarran Reed, Poona Ford, Bryan Mone, L.J. Collier, Jonathan Bullard and Rasheem Green (once activated) can all play on the defensive interior. Reed, Ford and Mone specifically can all play at the nose tackle spot that Harrison would also be a part of. Seattle is already the ninth-ranked run defense in the NFL and would rate even more highly if not for the big game Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison of the Minnesota Vikings put together last month.
Harrison also needed time to get into football shape after not being a part of a team all year until joining Seattle last month. While he is in shape now, Reed, Ford and Mone are playing well enough at the position that there just isn't much need to add Harrison, who would see only a handful of snaps given the roster construction.
"Really like I've been saying the last two weeks have been his best two weeks by far," Carroll said. "This was his best week again on top of last. He's ready to go. We just got to get a spot for him. Our guys have been doing a nice job and we haven't felt like sitting anybody down yet for him to get up. But he's ready, ready to go. As soon as the opportunity pops he's gonna jump in. He's looking good. He's worked really hard to get himself in great shape and he starting to really come around."
Defensive tackle is one of the few positions on the roster not being hit with injuries currently either. If Ford or Mone were hurt, Harrison very well could be added for a game. Instead, it's cornerback, safety and running back that have seen the most injuries for Seattle. It's likely that Alex Collins and cornerback Jayson Stanley will be the two call-ups from the practice squad this weekend in Buffalo to cover the depth issues at those spots.
Harrison would likely only see somewhere between 5-15 snaps a game right now if he was on the roster. Because he wouldn't play much, if any, special teams either, the value of bringing him up just doesn't currently make sense.
"Yeah it’s killing me not to be playing right now," Harrison wrote on Twitter on Friday. "I fell out of love with the game the last few years and took it for granted. I’ve found that love again. This is my season of patience and humility."
Having a former All-Pro as depth waiting in the wings late in the season isn't the worst position for Seattle to be in either.
Injury Report:
Photo Credit: GLENDALE, ARIZONA - SEPTEMBER 29: Defensive end Rasheem Green #98 of the Seattle Seahawks battles through the block of offensive lineman Jordan Mills #79 of the Arizona Cardinals during the second half of the NFL football game at State Farm Stadium on September 29, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Ralph Freso/Getty Images)