Injury Concerns As Training Camp Approaches

All NFL teams begin training camp with a few injury questions, and the Seahawks are no exception. Here are just a few of the players that I’ll be keeping a close eye on when training camp opens on the 24th.

Nov.25, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Seattle Seahawks defensive end Chris Clemons (right) talks with referee Clete Blakeman (left) during the first half against the Miami Dolphins at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Chris Clemons is the biggest unknown at this point. Both he and Pete Carroll have said that Clemons could be ready for week 1. The key word there is “could.” He’s not ready for contact yet, and likely wont be for a few weeks. It’ll be worth watching to see if he can get completely up to speed in just a couple weeks once he begins contact work.

James Carpenter is another player to watch. He had another surgery to clean up his knee after the season ended. He is supposed to be ready for the start of training camp, and there’s no reason to think that he wont be at this point. I expect the Seahawks to get him up to speed a little bit slower than everyone else though, since his recovery and rehab has cut into his conditioning program.

Another player worth keeping an eye on is right tackle Breno Giacomini. He missed the offseason program with a nagging knee injury that isn’t supposed to be serious. There’s no reason to be concerned yet, but until he takes the field and works out without pain, I’m going to be watching closely. When these problems linger like this, it’s rarely a good thing.

One other player to watch is rookie DT Jesse Williams. He was a first round talent that dropped all the way to the 5th round because of knee problems. He’s as healthy as he’s going to get, both those knees are going to need to managed. It’ll be interesting to watch how much he participates in drills throughout training camp.