The Seattle Seahawks enter Week 18 facing a must-win game if the team wants to take the top seed in the NFC playoffs. Should Seattle defeat the San Francisco 49ers, the team would also win the NFC West. But Seattle might be missing a couple of key players.
One player that Seattle knew weeks ago wouldn't make the game is rookie wide receiver Tory Horton. Horton hasn't played since Week 9 after suffering a shin injury. He scored two touchdowns in that game, the final being the fifth of his total touchdowns for the season. He was off to an incredible start in 2025.
But just as his final season in college was cut short due to injury, so was his first NFL season. Clearly, there will be long-lasting concerns about Horton's ability to stay healthy for the foreseeable future. What seems certain is that he won't be coming back this year and won't help the Seahawks in the postseason.
Seattle Seahawks will likely be without Tory Horton until next season
If there was any doubt about that last part, head coach Mike Macdonald clarified Horton's status while speaking to the media on Friday, a day before the Seahawks and 49ers meet at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara. The rookie wideout won't play in Week 18, and the team isn't counting on him in the near future.
Macdonald told reporters, "The best way I can describe (the injury), what he has it just takes a long time to heal. Put it this way, we're planning on not having him, and, if something happens, which we're not counting on, and he's able to come back, then that's great, but right now we're planning on not having him."
That makes it apparently clear that Tory Horton won't return until minicamp sometime in 2026. The shame is that he did flash explosiveness, both as a wide receiver and a punt returner, though that role has been mostly filled by veteran Rashid Shaheed.
Shaheed suffered a concussion in Week 17 against the Carolina Panthers, but the positive part is that he has cleared protocol, been able to practice with no issues, and will play against the 49ers. How many passes he catches is unknown, but his threat of a game-changing play in the third phase of the game could alter what San Francisco does on punts and kicks.
The Seattle Seahawks will definitely be without starting left tackle Charles Cross, and Macdonald could not confirm that backup Josh Jones would play either. Jones is listed as questionable. The situation without Cross or Jones would be dire, even against a banged-up San Francisco 49ers defense.