The Seahawks hit a snag in their return to being ... well, the Seahawks, but it's nothing that the addition of Ray Rice couldn't solve.
Seattle kept its second-half surge going with a 35-6 drubbing of the Ravens on Sunday for their fourth straight win and sixth in seven games. At 8-5, the Seahawks appear to be a lock to reach the playoffs and chase their third consecutive Super Bowl appearance.
DeAngelo Williams' Success For Steelers Dispels Notion That Ray Rice Is Over The Hill
But in the process, Seattle lost promising rookie Thomas Rawls to a season-ending fractured ankle that came during the team's first offensive possession. Fan sentiment shows that the Seahawks should give the former Ravens running back a call.
Starter Marshawn Lynch is still recovering from surgery for an abdominal injury and did not play Sunday. Coach Pete Carroll said the timetable for his return is up in the air, according to Seahawks.com.
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"Marshawn is working out with us rehabbing," Carroll said. "He's in the program here to try to get back ... We're still just kind of waiting. It's a day-to-day thing that really will be week-to-week. Not this week for sure. We'll see what happens next week."
Seattle still has veteran Fred Jackson on the roster, but it was DuJuan Harris who got 18 carries (for 42 yards) in Rawls' absence. Fortunately for the two-time defending NFC champions, there's a Pro Bowl-caliber running back just waiting for a phone call. Still.
Rice has not played since the 2013 season, thanks to his suspension -- and subsequent unwritten banishment from the NFL --- as a result of the knockout punch he threw at his then-fiancée and now wife Janay in Feb. 2014.
But as 32-year-old DeAngelo Williams is proving with the Steelers, older running backs aren't necessarily a liability. Rice is 28 years old.
A poll asking fans whether the Seahawks should sign Rice posted on pantherlair.com indicated that an overwhelming majority of responders voted "yes."
Seattle must assess whether the initial distraction of signing the embattled running back would be worth the insurance policy as the team looks to make another Super Bowl run.
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