The Seattle Seahawks play the Arizona Cardinals in Week 7. Arizona doesn't have the most talented roster in the NFL, but they are a feisty bunch that Seattle certainly can't overlook and they will need to match the Cardinals' intensity level. Seattle is 3-2 while Arizona is 1-5.
Seattle's injury report for Week 7 isn't too bad. (More on that in just a second.) So while the Seahawks offensive line wasn't good in Week 6, it should be better this week.
We also should hope that Geno Smith has a bounce-back game. Smith was extremely hesitant at times against the Bengals. A quarterback with the yips is a bad quarterback. Here is some other news for your Saturday.
Seattle Seahawks safety Jamal Adams is fined for Week 4 incident
Maybe Jamal Adams was aware of what he was saying to an unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant in Week 4 after Adams had been looked at for a concussion after he was accidentally kneed in the head by New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones as Adams was attempting awkwardly to make a tackle. Adams was clearly concussed on the play and video showed him screaming in anger at the doctor who had diagnosed Adams. Due to being concussed, the NFL decided not to discipline Adams for his actions directed toward the doctor.
The reason I say that maybe Adams was aware of how he was acting toward the doctor is because against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 6, Adams was speaking his mind to another unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant when they were attempting to look at Seahawks receiver Jake Bobo for a potential concussion. The only reason I can think of that Adams would get involved in the Bobo situation is that Adams was still bothered with how he thought he was being treated in Week 4.
For his actions in Week 6, Adams was fined $50,000 by the NFL who had reviewed video of the incident. While $50,000 might not be a ton of money to Adams - he is paid more than $1 million a game - that amount is still higher than normal NFL fines by a couple of tens of thousands of dollars. In other words, the NFL doesn't like it when you yell or make "inappropriate contact" with an unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant so don't do that, kids.
DK Metcalf seems to not want to change his penalty-loving ways
DK Metcalf is going to be who he is and that's not really a bad thing normally. Metcalf is an effervescent player with a quick, friendly smile who can be charming off the field and beastly on it. But I mean the "beastly" part in a positive sense, like when Metcalf catches a ball and then plows through a defender for an extra five yards or so.
But Metcalf does draw far too many 15-yard penalties that are attributed to taunting, unsportsmanlike conduct, and others of that ilk. Basically, penalties that a player can control better than a false start which is a physical accident instead of an emotional or mental thing. But this week, instead of Metcalf apologizing for his flag problem, he went the other way.
According to ESPN, Metcalf said simply, "I'm not going to change the way I play." Well, if he means catch passes and score touchdowns then great. But what Metcalf seemed to be referring to wasn't that part of his game but the penalty issue. Metcalf clarified by saying
"If you look at the penalties, it was a taunting, unnecessary roughness, face mask, holding and I think it was one more in there. So I'm doing pretty good if I look at it and judge myself, how I play. I just try to be consistent and have clean hands or whatever the case may be, but I'm not going to change who I am as a player or a person."DK Metcalf
He's "doing pretty good"? What the heck does that mean? I like DK Metcalf but at some point - hopefully - he has to be aware he is costing his team yards and potential points by getting needless 15-yard penalties. No other player has as many 15-yard penalties for the same off-ball issues since 2020 as Metcalf and he should be aware of that as well. If the coaching staff has spoken with him about stopping picking up those kinds of penalties (which they supposedly have) and Metcalf is refusing to listen, that's an issue.
Week 7 injury report
We finally got a Seahawks injury report ahead of a game that wasn't too bad. No players, in fact, have been ruled out for the first game against the Arizona Cardinals in 2023. We do know that right tackle Abraham Lucas won't be playing, but he's been on injured reserve because of a knee injury, and while he is eligible to come off the list, he isn't physically ready yet and he hasn't been practicing, of course.
Otherwise, Seattle had just five players listed as questionable for Week 7, and none listed as doubtful. Of the five listed as questionable, three are offensive linemen. There's sadly no real surprise there because the Seahawks have had major issues with O-line health this season. In five games played so far, Seattle has started four different offensive line combinations. The only player who has played every game so far is center/guard Evan Brown.
Brown is one of the questionables in Week 7, along with right guard Phil Haynes and right tackle Jake Curhan. Head coach Pete Carroll believes both Curhan and Brown will play, though Haynes might not. Rookie right guard Anthony Bradford has started twice this year (Week 3 against the Panthers and Week 6 against the Bengals) and for the most part, he has played better than Haynes anyway.
The other two players listed as questionable are receiver DK Metcalf (ribs/hip) and running back Zach Charbonnet (hamstring). Metcalf is currently a game-time decision though he will probably play. Heck, if he doesn't, maybe there should be a rumor started that maybe the Seahawks sat him for discipline reasons for him picking up too many bad penalties?