Seahawks' John Schneider confirms Abraham Lucas problem will continue

Seattle Seahawks fans got some good news and bad news in terms of the statuses of some key injured players on Tuesday when general manager John Schneider spoke with the media. Before we get into the bad news, let's start with the good part. Edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu will not be placed on injured reserve and miss the first four games of the season.

That implies the Seahawks are thinking Nwosu might only miss a game or two. The edge rusher is one of the most important pieces of Seattle's defense. He was also injured in Week 7 of 2023 and had to miss the rest of the season. Without Nwosu, the Seahawks' run defense also appeared to take the rest of the season off. The team finished 31st against the run last season.

The bad part came with Schneider saying right tackle Abraham Lucas certainly will not be ready for Week 1. Or, well...maybe not even until Week 10. There is no timeline on when the right tackle will be able to play. Schneider said he expects Lucas to play at some point this year. The general manager wants to do what is best for the player, he said.

Seahawks general manager John Schneider does not have great news about Abraham Lucas

That's admirable, of course. Plus, forcing Lucas to play before he is fully ready to do so would be a mistake. His fragile knee might not hold up consistently anyway, but unless he is 100 percent, his being on the field is only going to hurt the team.

Seattle signed free agent George Fant this offseason to back up Lucas, but also likely with the thought that Fant might have to play a large number of snaps. If Fant does have to play, he is a solid offensive tackle who is a bit better at pass protection than run blocking.

Lucas flashed the ability to be great at both aspects as a rookie in 2022, though. He, along with left tackle Charles Cross, appeared set to be the bookends for Seattle's offensive line for most of the next decade. Cross has been decent, but not great, so far. Lucas has seen less and less of the field.

The biggest problem is that Lucas and Seattle are running out of time. He is only signed through 2025. Assuming he misses a chunk of 2024, and hoping that he can play most of 2025 - a huge leap of faith, to be sure - that would mean the Seahawks only got about two seasons out of Lucas. That wouldn't give much confidence that Lucas is a long-term option at right tackle.

In other injury news, Schneider also said he was not positive free agent signees Connor Williams and Rayshawn Jenkins would be available for Week 1. If they aren't, 12s should expect Olu Oluwatimi to start at center and K'Von Wallace to start at Jenkins' safety spot.

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