Final Seahawks injury report for Week 9 shows a big offensive weapon is out

The Seattle Seahawks will miss two of their best weapons on offense when the Los Angeles Rams come to town for a key NFC West showdown. One of them was sorely missed in the loss to the Bills in Week 8.

Okay 12s, no need to be coy any longer. DK Metcalf will miss his second consecutive game when the Hawks take the field Sunday to face key rival Los Angeles. This will be just the third game he's missed in his career with the Hawks. With him out, Seattle simply cannot afford the kinds of mental errors that blew up any chance they had of defeating Buffalo last week.

Metcalf is just the biggest name on the injury list. Tight end Noah Fant has been ruled out as well. He may not be quite as dangerous a weapon as Metcalf, but he's still been a key piece of the Hawks air attack. He's tied for fourth in receptions with Kenneth Walker III at 27. The problem is that he has more than twice as many catches as Seattle's other tight ends. Rookie A.J. Barner will have to step up his game to keep the Rams defense from doubling Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba all day.

The Seattle Seahawks will need a lot of next men up

With Metcalf out of the lineup last week, one would assume that Tyler Lockett would have seen plenty of targets. So of course, Geno Smith only threw to him three times. The Hawks second-leading receiver of all time only pulled down one catch for nine yards. If he doesn't put up better stats than Laviska Shenault Jr. for the second straight week, it's going to be a long day at Lumen Field.

It's no surprise that Abraham Lucas will miss Week 9. It would have been a shock if he was ready to play, as the Seahawks have made it clear for the past few weeks that his targeted return is after the bye next week. George Fant participated in practice today, so we'll see if the Hawks activate him for the game.

The only other player ruled out for Sunday is nose tackle Cameron Young. That's not exactly surprising as he's had all of three snaps this season. It would certainly help to have him as another rotational piece on the defensive line, but the Seahawks will have to wait at least two more weeks before he'll see any more action this year.

As for the Rams, they're getting healthy just while the Hawks are struggling. Three players are out for the visitors. Offensive lineman Joe Noteboom is on injured reserve, while nose tackle Neville Gallimore and punter Ethan Evans have been ruled out. Gallimore has only played on 30 percent of the Rams snaps, while Noteboom had 28 snaps this year. Los Angeles signed a punter to their practice squad this week. It may be a game-time decision whether the Hawks will face Ryan Sanborn or the new guy, Ty Zentner.

Seahawks final injury report designations:

• Right tackle Abraham Lucas (knee) - Out
• Wide receiver DK Metcalf (knee) - Out
• Nose tackle Cam Young (knee) - Out
• Tight end Noah Fant (groin) - Out
• Linebacker Ernest Jones IV (neck) - Questionable

Rams final injury report designations:

• Nose tackle Neville Gallimore (shoulder) - Out
• Offensive lineman Joe Noteboom (ankle) - Out
• Punter Ethan Evans (illness) - Out
• Safety Sam Curl (knee) - Questionable
• Wide receiver Jordan Whittington (shoulder) - Questionable
• Cornerback Charles Woods (toe) - Questionable
• Wide receiver Puka Nacua (knee) - Questionable

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