Seahawks: Final injury report versus Packers in divisional round

The Seahawks still won’t have some key players on Sunday versus the Packers, but they might be getting at least one valuable player back for Sunday.

The Seahawks need several things to go well for them to beat the Packers on Sunday, but maybe the key one is Seattle needs to run the ball really well and not simply rely on Russell Wilson to win the game throwing. But Seattle will still not have Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny. Seattle won’t have tight end Will Dissly either.

But the Seahawks could be getting left tackle Duane Brown back to play the Packers. Brown has been working to get back from minor knee surgery a few weeks ago. He has missed the last three games. He is still questionable, but coach Pete Carroll sounded hopeful late in the week that Brown would be able to play against Green Bay.

While getting Brown back would be great simply because he is one of the better left tackles in the NFL, it also allows Seattle to get back to formations that work well when they run the ball. George Fant, himself questionable with a groin injury, would move back to blocking tight end playing on the right side next to right tackle Germain Ifedi. Brown and Ifedi form a pretty imposing duo when it comes to run blocking.

Of course, if neither Brown or Fant are able to play and the Seahawks have to face the Packers’ Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith without them, the game might get ugly. But let’s think positively.

Seattle also lists left guard Mike Iupati as questionable with a neck issue. He has been having some nerve problems since being injured. Jamarco Jones would start in his place and Jones as a guard has played pretty well this year. My feeling is Iupati does not play Sunday.

I also think defensive end Ziggy Ansah doesn’t play either. He has a neck issue as well. Ansah was a potentially very good offseason signing but that has not worked out very well and might have played his last down in the NFL.

The Seahawks could also be without defensive lineman Quinton Jefferson who has had a pretty good season. And rookie safety Marquise Blair didn’t practice on Friday with an ankle injury so he likely will miss the game.

Seattle will definitely have Jadeveon Clowney and Quandre Diggs against the Packers, however, so that is very good news. The Seahawks defense is simply nowhere near the same quality without either Diggs or Clowney.