Ken Walker III, George Fant Doubtful for Seattle Seahawks vs. New England Patriots

After missing practice on Wednesday and Thursday, the Seattle Seahawks placed doubtful injury designations on running back Ken Walker III and tackle George Fant on Friday’s final injury report, making them unlikely to play against the New England Patriots on Sunday.

In additional injury news, Seattle ruled out veteran tight end Pharaoh Brown for the second straight week with a foot injury and linebackers Tyrel Dodson and Jerome Baker received questionable designations.

Shouldering the load with 103 rushing yards and a touchdown on 20 carries against the Broncos last week, Walker did not play in the Seahawks final offensive drive due to an oblique injury. Though he told reporters after the game that he was okay, he hasn’t practiced at all this week and now, it looks like the team is prepared to roll with Zach Charbonnet and Kenny McIntosh as the primary ball carriers in Foxboro this weekend.

Offering very little insight following Friday’s practice, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald did indicate that Walker is making strides, though he’s not likely to play this weekend.

“He feels good. He’s getting better. Right now it’s doubtful and we’ll go from there,” Macdonald said.

If Walker indeed doesn’t dress on Sunday, Seattle will likely elevate undrafted rookie George Holani from the practice squad for game day as extra backfield insurance.

As for Fant, the veteran tackle opened the season as Abraham Lucas’ injury replacement on the right side and didn’t make it out of the first quarter in Sunday’s win, exiting the field with a knee injury and quickly being ruled out. Stone Forsythe played the remainder of the game and would earn his first start of the season in the event Fant isn’t able to suit up, while sixth-round pick Mike Jerrell would likely be active as his backup in New England.

After injuring his foot during a joint practice in Nashville last month, Brown looked to be trending towards playing against his former team on Wednesday, as he was a limited participant in practice. However, he didn’t practice on Thursday, which wasn’t a good sign for his prognosis heading towards the weekend, and he joined edge defender Uchenna Nwosu as officially being ruled out on Friday.

The Seahawks will head to Massachusetts with major question marks at linebacker, as Baker continues to deal with a nagging hamstring injury that has bothered him for over a month and Dodson was limited this week by a new shoulder injury. Both players started and played the entire game against the Broncos last Sunday, and if either is unable to dress in Foxboro, rookie Tyrice Knight and second-year defender Drake Thomas would be next in line to start at weakside and middle linebacker respectively. Neither has started a game in the NFL.

If Seattle needs insurance at off-ball linebacker, Patrick O’Connell spent the entire offseason and training camp with the team and could be elevated from the practice squad. After releasing Michael Barrett earlier in the week off the practice squad and losing him to Cleveland, the team doesn’t have any other in-house options available.