The Seattle Seahawks' defense was a shell of itself in the second half of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers game in Week 5. Head coach Mike Macdonald's unit was giving up splash plays, points, and seemingly had no chance of consistently stopping the Bucs. Seattle had no choice.
The team was already missing Pro Bowlers Devon Witherspoon and Julian Love entering the game, as well as veteran edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence. Then Seattle lost cornerback Riq Woolen early in the second half. This was after the Seahawks lost, maybe a more important figure.
Third-year edge rusher Derick Hall, arguably having his best season in the league even though he hasn't recorded a sack, hurt his oblique and was nearly immediately ruled out. That is never a good sign. In fact, how long it takes a player to be ruled out during a game and how many games he misses thereafter are often hand-in-hand.
Seattle Seahawks could be without Derick Hall for quite a while
Hall will almost certainly be out in Week 6 and could miss several games beyond that. In postgame comments, Macdonald said that Hall could miss "a couple of games" beyond Sunday's game. Mind you, this is from a coach who doesn't like to be overly informative about injuries. Three games could easily be six.
One reason that Derick Hall is not being put on injured reserve could be that Seattle has a bye week in Week 8. If a player is put on IR, the bye week doesn't count. If Hall were put on IR ahead of Week 6, he would be out until at least Week 11. This might be the case anyway, but if he is on the injured list and able to come back sooner, he can't.
Before Week 5, Hall ranked high in pass-rush win rates and run-stop win rates. After the Seahawks faltered, Hall fell out of the top 20 of ESPN's pass-rush win rate, but one game does not a season make. The Auburn product can set a hard edge against the run and pressure the quarterback.
Derick Hall's absence, coupled with the mercurial health of veteran DeMarcus Lawrence, puts the Seattle Seahawks in a bad situation. Boye Mafe and Uchenna are solid, but the depth behind them is weak. Edge rushers shouldn't be tasked with playing most of the snaps because they tire at the end of games.
A tired defense is a bad defense. At the end of the second half against the Buccaneers in Week 5, the Seahawks had a bad defense. If Hall has to miss many games, 12s might have to get used to that fact.