Seahawks may start Mark Glowinski at RG on Sunday

Seattle Seahawks rookie guard Mark Glowinski is in line to make the first start of his career on Sunday.

The Seattle Seahawks are already without starting LT Russell Okung with a calf injury. Now they may have to start a rookie at guard as well.

J.R. Sweezy is currently out with a concussion. He didn’t practice on Thursday, missing his second straight day. It is very unlikely that he’ll get through the NFL concussion protocol in time for Sunday’s game.

Normally, the fill-in would be swing linemen Alvin Bailey. Bailey is set to start at LT in place of the injured Okung. If Okung plays, then Bailey would most likely start at RG, but that isn’t likely to happen.

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Enter rookie Mark Glowinski. He’s the next man on the depth chart at OG and is likely to make the first start of his career.

Veteran OG/OC Lemuel Jeanpierre is another option, but Seattle history under Pete Carroll suggests that LJP won’t be the guy. The Seahawks have always been reluctant to play their backup center at guard and risk having both centers at risk for injury.

The wild card in all of this is rookie Kristjan Sokoli. The former defensive lineman is also technically a center. If he’s active on Sunday and Cable believe he is ready to play center, then Jeanpierre would be free to play guard.

That is a big “if” though. Sokoli has been inactive for most of the season, and thus has played only a handful of snaps all year. There’s no reason to suspect that he’s ready for extended playing time at this point.

The end result here is that Seattle’s already-sketchy offensive line is likely to be greatly diminished for Sunday’s finale against Arizona. It might be wise to use this week as a de-facto bye week for critical starters.

There is simply no reason to risk Russell Wilson’s health behind a makeshift line. The Seahawks already have their playoff ticket punched. It is time to let Tarvaris Jackson take a few those hits.

If the Seahawks sit Wilson, they might as well sit Doug Baldwin, Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas and anyone with nagging injury as well.

The Seahawks have nothing to play for on Sunday. There’s no reason to risk their key players in a meaningless game.