The Seattle Seahawks, thankfully, have a couple of more practices before the team is fully ready to take on the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship game. That not only gives the coaches more time to perfect the game plan, but also gives banged-up players more time to heal.
Seattle already knew it would be without running back Zach Charbonnet. He tore his ACL against the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round. That likely means Kenneth Walker III will get the ball even more, though backups Velus Jones, Cam Akers, and, potentially, George Holani will definitely get reps.
The biggest question currently is who will be blocking for them on the far left side of the line. The hope is that left tackle Charles Cross will be ready. He has struggled with a hamstring issue since late in the season, and he missed a few games.
Seattle Seahawks dealing with left tackle injury issues ahead of NFC Championship game
He was able to play for the better part of the start against the 49ers, but his presumed backup, Josh Jones, missed the game with knee and ankle injuries. Once Cross was forced to leave in the second half of the game, undrafted rookie Amari Kight entered and played pretty well.
By that point, the game was clearly out of hand, and Seattle might have substituted Kight for Cross anyway. Head coach Mike Macdonald has suggested that Cross might have been able to return if the game had been tighter.
To start the week ahead of the NFC Championship, though, Cross, Jones, and Kight all missed the first practice. Cross has a foot problem that could be related to his hamstring. Jones is probably going to miss the next game versus the Rams because he has the same knee and ankle problems. Kight is dealing with a knee injury.
Even potential LT4 Bryce Cabeldue was limited in practice with his own knee issue. The assumption would be that if Cross, Jones, Kight, and Cabeldue miss the contest, rookie Mason Richman would start. That is far from ideal.
While Wednesday's practice might not look anything like Friday's upcoming final injury report, the left tackle injuries are definitely worth monitoring. Cross likely doesn't need to practice at all during the week. He knows his job. The others might need the reps.
Plus, even if Kight is fine for the game and Cross misses it, there is no guarantee that Kight will be good again, as he has given Seattle Seahawks fans only a small sample size of hope. Hopefully, Charles Cross plays in the NFC Championship game and is healthy enough to be good. Otherwise, Seattle might have real problems.
Update: Mike Macdonald said on Thursday that he believes Cross has a "good" chance to play against the Rams, but the Friday injury report will tell fans more.