Colby Parkinson, Tre Brown Ruled Out For Seattle Seahawks’ Opener Versus Indianapolis Colts
While the Seahawks should be close to full strength for their regular season opener against the Colts, two players have already been ruled for Sunday’s contest.
As confirmed by coach Pete Carroll following Monday’s practice, tight end Colby Parkinson and rookie cornerback Tre Brown won’t be ready to return in time for Week 1 and could be out for a few more weeks. As insurance, Seattle elevated tight end Tyler Mabry from the practice squad and reportedly could sign former New York Jets cornerback Bless Austin in coming days.
After an outstanding start to his second training camp in which he showcased his abilities as a red zone weapon and athleticism as a downfield receiving threat, Parkinson re-injured the same foot he broke prior to his rookie season in mid-August. The original injury required surgery and the former Stanford standout missed the first six games of the regular season on the non-football injury list.
Parkinson recently began running on the field, making excellent progress in his return. However, Carroll indicated while he’s closing in on his return, “he just isn’t going to make it back yet” and the team plans to handle his recovery with caution.
“It’s a foot injury that you just have to work your way back at it and not overdo it and not mess it up along the way,” Carroll said. “We felt like if we don’t have him available here, then we can get a couple weeks to get him ready. It’ll be really important so that we can get him back, his strength back. He runs every day, he’s working hard at it, but he’s not up to speed yet.”
With Parkinson out at least one more week, if not longer, Mabry should be active as the third tight end behind Gerald Everett and Will Dissly in Indianapolis.
As for Brown, the fourth-round pick out of Oklahoma sprained his knee during the Seahawks second preseason game against the Broncos and has been sidelined for the past three weeks. According to Carroll, he will be out a bit longer, but the injury isn’t considered a significant one.
“He’s got a couple things we’re working on,” Carroll updated. “None of them are debilitating. None of them are so serious. It’s just going to take some time. It’ll be a couple weeks.”
Seattle has made numerous moves over the past couple of weeks to help address the cornerback position. As Carroll noted, Brown’s injury led to the team’s decision to trade a conditional seventh-round pick to the Texans for cornerback John Reid prior to the preseason finale. Reid was re-signed to the practice squad last week and could be one of two players vaulted to the 53-man roster for game day on Sunday.
In other injury news, the Seahawks welcomed back safety Ryan Neal as a full participant at practice on Monday after sitting out the past three weeks with an oblique strain. He’s expected to be ready to suit up against the Colts.
