Injury Updates: Seahawks Expected to Lose Jalen Sundell For ‘Multiple Weeks’

Seattle Seahawks center Jalen Sundell (61) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

RENTON, Wash. - In the aftermath of a 44-24 beatdown of the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, starting with a looming battle against the Los Angeles Rams on the road next weekend, the Seattle Seahawks will have to move forward for the foreseeable future without a key piece of their offensive line.

Speaking with reporters from the VMAC on Monday afternoon, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald confirmed center Jalen Sundell would be out for “multiple weeks” after exiting Sunday’s win midway through the second quarter with a knee injury. While the injury isn’t expected to end his season - at least for the time being - and he will not need to undergo surgery, injured reserve could be a possibility, which would require the second-year blocker out of North Dakota State to miss four games minimum.

“Not season ending as of today,” Macdonald said. “But he's tough as crap. We'll see. We'll see how it goes, but hopefully we'll get him back.”

Earning a starting job out of training camp, Sundell has started all nine games thus far for Seattle at the pivot position, helping provide stellar protection for quarterback Sam Darnold. Among qualified centers with at least 229 pass blocking snaps, he ranks third overall with just six pressures allowed, has yet to give up a sack, and ranks seventh in Pass Block Efficiency Rate (98.7%) per Pro Football Focus.

Without Sundell available for at least a couple of games, if not longer, the Seahawks will turn to Olu Oluwatimi, who played the entire second half in Sunday’s victory and previously started eight games last season after replacing the abruptly retiring Connor Williams. He yielded just eight pressures and no sacks in those eight starts, proving himself as a more than capable blocker in the pass game while helping the offense find some rhythm on the ground upon his inclusion in the lineup.

Against the Cardinals, according to Macdonald, Oluwatimi made a similar impact driving defenders off the ball in the run game, serving as a difference maker up front for the Seahawks rushing for north of 125 yards in the final two quarters to ice the game down the stretch. This included a 13-play drive that lasted more than seven minutes and ended with a Jason Myers field goal, whittling away valuable clock and preventing Arizona from mounting a comeback.

“Really excited for Olu,” Macdonald said. “Talking about staying ready and then when this opportunity presented itself, played some really good football for us. And he was really catalyst behind a lot of those runs.”

Even if Sundell doesn’t land on injured reserve, the Seahawks will have to have a new backup ready behind Oluwatimi for at least the next few games. Among candidates for that role, third-year blocker Christian Haynes will be entering the final week of his 21-day window returning from injured reserve and snapped as a center during training camp in August, while rookie Bryce Cabeldue played a handful of snaps late in the fourth quarter on Sunday with backup quarterback Drew Lock. Undrafted rookie Federico Maranges also remains on the practice squad as a promotion option.

Along with Sundell expected to be sidelined for several weeks, according to Macdonald, veteran defensive tackle Jarran Reed underwent a second surgery on his injured wrist on Monday morning. After being placed on injured reserve on Saturday, he will be required to miss at least three more games, and it remains to be seen how quickly he will be able to return to action after his first surgery over the bye week didn’t successfully address the issue.

“I think we just got to get a sense of, you know, how strong it is and how well it heals,” Macdonald stated. “But again, I don't think we're in danger of [him missing the season] right now. The goal is to have him, to get him back.”

In Reed’s absence, with rookie Rylie Mills not expected to return to practice this week as he rehabs from a torn ACL suffered back in January at Notre Dame, the trio of Mike Morris, Brandon Pili, and Quinton Bohanna should continue to see increased playing time behind starters Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy II.

As for linebacker Ernest Jones (knee), receiver Tory Horton (chin), and cornerback Josh Jobe (concussion), Macdonald didn’t have any updates on those three players after they sat out Sunday’s win, indicating it was too early to know whether any of them would be available this week to face the Rams. Like last week, there should be more clarity as the team returns to practice starting on Wednesday.