Seahawks Face Interesting Grey Zabel Decision Heading Into Road Game vs. Lowly Titans
RENTON, Wash. - In the NFL, as the saying goes, anyone can beat anyone “Any Given Sunday.” For that reason, coming off a loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Mike Macdonald and the Seattle Seahawks certainly won’t be overlooking the one-win Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
But as the Seahawks ramp up preparations for a long road trip to Nashville, while Macdonald won’t be making such declarations publicly, decisions on whether or not to play a player coming off an injury on a week against an inferior team absolutely happen behind closed doors. It can be argued the coaching stuff has already exercised such discretion in earlier games this season, including holding out linebacker Ernest Jones against the Cardinals at Lumen Field just two weeks ago when he may have been able to suit up in a higher stakes game against a better opponent.
That decision ended up working out incredibly well with replacement Tyrice Knight forcing a pair of fumbles on strip sacks that teammate Demarcus Lawrence returned for touchdowns, turning a rivalry match into a full-fledged blowout in the first half of Seattle’s 44-22 win over Arizona.
This week, Macdonald, offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, and of course Seattle’s medical staff, will have earnest discussions about rookie guard Grey Zabel, whose season appeared to be potentially over when he grabbed his left knee on the turf after having teammate Charles Cross roll onto his lower leg and had to be assisted off the field late in Sunday’s defeat at SoFi Stadium. All signs pointed to him being out for at least a few weeks, if not much longer, presenting a major blow for an improved offensive line.
Fortunately, scans came back showing no “significant injury,” per Macdonald, and after sitting out Wednesday’s practice, the former North Dakota State standout could be seen with a helmet and shoulder pads as a limited participant on Thursday. Such a development would suggest that he’s making a serious push to be able to play this weekend, something few could have foreseen when he struggled to put weight on his left leg only four days ago, though Kubiak didn’t seem as surprised speaking with reporters after practice wrapped up, calling his earlier-than-expected return a “big boost” for the Seahawks.
“Grey is a little gangster. He’s tough,” Kubiak smiled. “You see him on the sideline after the game, you see this look in his eye, you ask him how he’s doing and you can just tell the way he looks at you and he talks to you that he’s going to get back as soon as he can. That’s been something really impressive from him all along, obviously something that’s been developed in him at a very young age. We’re really lucky to have that on our offense.”
When it comes to whether or not Zabel will play on Sunday, much of that decision will fall on the player himself and the medical team. With scans not showing any damage to his knee, if he’s feeling good and shows no ill effects from the play that left him on the ground for a couple of minutes on Sunday, the Seahawks obviously understand they have a better offense with him on the field and his presence may be more important against the Titans than their record would indicate.
For all of Tennessee’s pitfalls losing nine of its first 10 games, an interior defensive line led by former All-Pro Jeffery Simmons and second-year tackle T’Vondre Sweat stands out as the team’s biggest strength. The Titans also have plenty of depth up front in the trenches with Sebastian Joseph-Day and Shy Tuttle being quality veterans with positional flexibility rotating in behind Simmons and Sweat.
A rare bright spot for a franchise that has been in the midst of a rebuild for several seasons running, Simmons already has 5.5 sacks, nine tackles for loss, and 12 quarterback hits, continuing to create all sorts of havoc while playing numerous alignments. This includes occasionally moonlighting as a two-point edge rusher with success, which Macdonald pointed out breaking down the player’s strengths on Wednesday only a few days after he recorded a sack against the Titans from wide-9 alignment at 300-plus pounds.
“Jeffery's a great player. You don't see a lot of A-gap players that can play inside and out,” Macdonald remarked. “Shoot, he can rush outside too and play all three downs. We have some guys that are like that too. Murph (Byron Murphy II), Leo (Leonard Williams), J. Reed (Jarran Reed). But he's one of the best, he plays hard, plays physical, and they do a good job of moving him around and matching him up. So, he's a guy that we're going to have to account for.”
As for Sweat, the former Texas star who once shined alongside Murphy in Austin has battled injuries and been limited to just five games thus far this season. Still, he’s been quite effective when he has been in the lineup, generating two sacks and four tackles for loss while playing in just half of Tennessee’s games thus far. At 6-4, 366 pounds, he’s a massive defender with unreal athleticism for his size, creating matchup issues in the interior as both a space eater and penetrating nose with the ability to slide to 3-tech defensive tackle in a pinch.
Now back healthy, Sweat will be entrenched next to Simmons, giving the Titans a one-two punch that may make the Seahawks think twice about the possibility of resting Zabel with sights on a Week 13 home game against the Vikings and Week 14 road game against the Falcons looming in the near future. If there’s a position group that could turn the tide in Tennessee’s favor enough to put a scare into Seattle, that defensive line takes the cake, putting more of a priority on having as many starters available along the offensive line as possible.
However, at the same time, there’s still a ton of football left to be played, and if there’s any doubt about Zabel’s readiness for this weekend, it shouldn’t be a difficult decision for Macdonald and company to hit the snooze button and protect the player from himself with the big picture in mind. After all, even with Simmons and Sweat anchoring their front line, Tennessee has been anything but a defensive juggernaut, ranking 30th in the league surrendering 27.3 points per game.
Given the injuries and dearth of talent the Titans have away from Simmons and Sweat, which only took a bigger hit by trading former Seahawks defensive end Dre’Mont Jones to the Ravens at the deadline last month, the Seahawks should have confidence that they can weather the storm for a week with Zabel and center Jalen Sundell both sidelined.
Second-year guard Christian Haynes, who had not played all season due to a pectoral injury before being activated last week, stepped in late last week and did a decent job protecting Sam Darnold as the team nearly pulled off a stunning comeback, providing some optimism he can handle the job in Nashville. If he has to play on Sunday, Kubiak has no reservations about the former third round pick out of UConn rising up and playing well when called upon.
“Small sample size, but was happy with where he started, and we're excited about him,” Kubiak said. “He's a good, young player, and if he has to go in there and play, we know he's going to do a great job.”
With three days until kickoff, the Seahawks don’t have to rush into any decisions when it comes to whether or not Zabel will suit up on Sunday. In fact, it would be a major surprise if he’s listed as anything other than questionable on Friday’s final injury report, allowing the team to work all the way up to kickoff before choosing whether or not to have him active and in the starting lineup.
In most cases against a bad team such as the Titans, precaution would rule the day, especially since there’s not a playoff spot up for grabs this week and six games remain after Sunday. Keeping Zabel healthy and to an extent protecting him from himself should be in consideration, and doing so doesn’t have to be viewed as taking an opponent lightly. If he doesn’t play because he’s not close to 100 percent, it’s likely the smart move long term, and Haynes will be better prepared to fill in getting starter reps this week.
But as Kubiak noted on Thursday, Zabel coming back on Thursday provided a morale boost for the entire offense, demonstrating his toughness once again and making it clear that he had intentions of doing whatever it takes to return to the lineup on Sunday. With two excellent players in Simmons and Sweat on the other side of the line who can wreck game plans and command respect, if he passes every test this week and looks healthy after putting the work in to recover in quick fashion, then nobody should expect to see the Seahawks keep him on the sidelines in street clothes as they aim to get back in the win column.
