Good news! Abe Lucas might be back soon!
Last year as a rookie right tackle was the equal of left tackle Charles Cross. Heck, Lucas was probably even better. But while Cross was taken ninth overall in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft, Lucas was chosen in the third round. Why? One reason is that Lucas is simply a pure right tackle and most NFL teams need excellent left tackles to protect their right-handed quarterback's blind sides. Lucas allowed 28 total pressures in 2022 with a run grade (according to Pro Football Focus and they require a subscription) better than Cross who allowed 48 total pressures.
So, yeah. One way of looking at those statistics are that Cross hasn't performed as well as Seattle hoped he would. And Cross's run-block grade is worse this year than last. That said, Cross did miss several games with injury, and Lucas has been out since Week 1 with a knee injury.
But Pete Carroll said this week that Lucas could be back at practice next week with the hopes that Lucas is able to play in Week 11 versus the Los Angeles Rams. There is even a chance Lucas can practice this week ahead of the Washington Commanders game, but that seems more unlikely.
Geno Smith was pressured on 49 percent of his dropbacks in Week 9 against the Blatimore Ravens. Has Lucas played maybe that number drops to 47 percent. Yes, I'm half-joking but Baltimore was just better than Seattle. But one thing that is going to make Seattle a better team moving forward is getting Lucas back.