SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - OCTOBER 07:Russell Wilson #3 of the Seattle Seahawks jogs off the field while tending to his finger injury after losing 26-17 to the Los Angeles Rams at Lumen Field on October 07, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)Photo: Getty Images
The Seattle Seahawks expect quarterback Russell Wilson to miss at least a month and possibly more after rupturing a tendon in his middle finger.
According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com, Wilson is could miss as much as 6-8 weeks due to the injury sustained Thursday night against the Los Angeles Rams.
Wilson injured his finger when his hand collided with the hand of Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald while he was following through on his throwing motion on a pass intended for Tyler Lockett in the third quarter. Wilson quickly came toward the sidelines to have his hand addressed with a trainer before returning to the huddle. He would throw just one pass in those four plays before being sidelined for the rest of the night in favor of backup Geno Smith.
Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported that Wilson had surgery to address the injury on Friday with Dr. Steven Shin in Los Angeles.
"The surgery was more complicated than expected, with the need for screws complicating matters. The timetable is roughly six weeks," Rapoport reported.
Wilson has started every game for the Seahawks since the start of the 2012 season when he won the starting job over Matt Flynn as a rookie. He's only missed a few snaps over the last decade because of injury concerns. Most of the times backup quarterbacks have played have been in blowouts as Wilson got the early hook.
The last quarterback to start a game for Seattle that wasn't Wilson was Tarvaris Jackson in the final game of the 2011 regular season. Wilson has started 165 consecutive games for Seattle between the regular season and playoffs combined with 149 straight regular season starts. Geno Smith hasn't started a game since 2017 with the New York Giants. He will now get the nod for the foreseeable future until Wilson is able to return to the lineup.
The Seahawks released a statement Friday night after Wilson's surgery.
Russell Wilson injured his right middle finger during last night's game versus the Rams. He sustained two injuries to the finger: an extensor tendon rupture (mallet finger) and a comminuted fracture-dislocation of the proximal interphalangeal joint. He had successful surgery today in Los Angeles by hand specialist Dr. Steven Shin at the Cedars-Sinai Kerlan Jobe Surgery Center to repair both injuries. He will start therapy this weekend and it is highly anticipated that he will return to play later this season.
"Based on what I saw today, I am fully confident Russell will return to the NFL this season and play at the same world class level that fans have come to expect of one of the game's very best quarterbacks," Shin said in a statement.
The Seahawks schedule isn't nearly as formidable in coming weeks as its been to start the season. Seattle will travel to face the Pittsburgh Steelers next week with home games against the New Orleans Saints and Jacksonville Jaguars ahead of the bye week in early November. It would seem as though Wilson will be out until at least after the bye when the Seahawks face the Green Bay Packers on Nov. 14.
Wilson's absence will be the first time a backup quarterback has had to start for Seattle since Charlie Whitehurst in 2011 when Jackson was sidelined due to a torn pectoral.
Photo Credit: SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - OCTOBER 07:Russell Wilson #3 of the Seattle Seahawks jogs off the field while tending to his finger injury after losing 26-17 to the Los Angeles Rams at Lumen Field on October 07, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)