The Seattle Seahawks might have gotten screwed over by the Indianapolis Colts when it comes to left guard Quenton Nelson. The left guard appears to have been dealing with a knee injury before Indy traded him to Seattle, and in one game for the Seahawks, the injury was aggravated.
Nelson needed "minor" surgery to clean out cartilage, but is any surgery ever truly minor? Not really. The recently acquired Nelson is expected to miss a few weeks, according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport.
Seattle might have needed to be a bit more nervous about doing a deal with Indianapolis. The Colts are the organization that allowed Daniel Jones to play on a fractured fibula last season before tearing his Achilles tendon a few weeks later. Related? Who can say, but not out of the question.
Quenton Nelson might be a risk that doesn't pay off for the Seattle Seahawks
Indy also played wide receiver Alec Pierce early this season after he had major heel surgery in March. Pierce aggravated the injury in his second game and hasn't played since. The Colts seemingly have a weird way of approaching injuries, and maybe one that lacks integrity.
Whether that can be proven fully or not, the truth is that Nelson was dealing with a knee issue before he was traded, and that has come back to hurt the Seahawks. The team gave up third- and fifth-round draft picks for a former First-Team All-Pro, and now it would have Nelson for a chunk of time. To make matters worse, Nelson is a free agent after the season, so any games missed are magnified.
Seattle could re-sign Nelson, and that is general manager John Schneider's normal way of doing business. He has traded for and then extended players like Leonard Williams, Duane Brown, and Rashid Shaheed. Nelson should be next.
In fact, the only way the trade is worth it at this point is if Seattle is able to re-sign Nelson. Otherwise, Seattle gave up multiple picks for a player who immediately missed games. That is far from ideal.
Assuming Nelson would stay healthy was logical. The left guard hadn't missed any games since 2021 and has only missed four games in his nine-year career. Whenever he returns, the hope is that he begins to stay healthy again, but did the Seahawks simply suffer some bad luck with his injury, or did the Colts sell Seattle damaged goods?
What matters now is Quenton Nelson getting back quickly -- though fully healthy -- and helping the Seattle Seahawks' rushing attack become a force again. Until that happens, Grey Zabel will move back to left guard, and Anthony Bradford will return to right guard. Let's hope that translates to a victory in Week 9 against the Arizona Cardinals.
That said, Nelson isn't the only player out for Seattle in Week 9. Unfortunately, the team will be missing Sam Darnold, Leonard Williams, Uchenna Nwosu, Rashid Shaheed, and Charles Cross, too. Sunday could turn quite ugly.
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