Seahawks RB1 Ken Walker has unusual injury, per Pete Carroll

The Seahawks victory in Week 13 was thrilling in that Seattle snapped a two-game losing streak and made a late come-from-behind drive to win. But the game could also have a long-term impact when it comes to the health of Seattle’s running backs. During the game, Seattle got down to its fourth-string running back, Tony Jones, Jr. That was because two other backs were injured, including RB1 Ken Walker III.

Walker left in the second quarter after making a run near the Rams goal line. He didn’t go down on the field but came up limping while stopping and took himself out of the game. The shame is that Walker was off to a good start and had 3 carries for 26 yards, including a 30-yard run to start the game.

According to head coach Pete Carroll on his Monday morning show on Seattle Sports, Walker has an “unusual” foot injury with some issues “inside the ankle.” Basically, the Seahawks need to see how Walker’s foot/ankle reacts to begin this week as there was some swelling on the MRI Walker had. Carroll could not give a firm timeline for Walker’s return.

Pete Carroll updates Seahawks running back Ken Walker III’s injury status

The positive is that it doesn’t appear that Walker would be out for an extended period of time. He could play this coming Sunday against the Carolina Panthers as much as there is a chance he misses the game. Likely, his game status will not be known until the end of the week.

The biggest issue for the Seahawks is that Travis Homer had to miss the Rams game with a knee injury (and an illness) and DeeJay Dallas was injured during the game. Dallas continued to play but he clearly was not 100 percent. Homer wasn’t officially out until late last week so there is a chance he plays against the Panthers. With Dallas not fully healthy and Homer and Walker out, Seattle needed to go with Tony Jones, Jr. at running back.

Jones did OK – 7 carries for 14 yards and he caught 2 passes for 18 yards – but he also somehow allowed Bobby Wagner to get an interception on a pass Jones should have (actually did?) caught. To be fair, we all know the play where Bobby Wagner “intercepted” the ball wasn’t really an interception. Either way, though, Jones needed to have better control of the ball.

In Week 14, the running back room will be anyone’s guess. Walker might play or not. Dallas should be healthy enough to play but healthy enough to take RB1 reps is anyone’s guess. Homer might or might not play. The Seahawks aren’t good enough to be one-dimensional offensively so having a running back that the Panthers have to account for is a must.