RENTON, Wash. -- Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll updated the status of running back Marshawn Lynch Wednesday.
"I understand from a report just recently that he’s really doing well, and he’s working really hard," Carroll said. "When he’s ready to get back to football, he’ll jump back in."
Asked if he's expecting Lynch to be back for the playoffs, Carroll added, "There’s a chance. This is something that it’s possible for him to return. It’s possible for him to return. Fortunately, we’re going to get to play longer, and the more we do that, the better off his chances to get back."
Lynch is rehabbing in the Bay Area from surgery associated with a sports hernia injury, and with the Seahawks a little more than two weeks away from opening the playoffs, there is no definitive timetable on his return.
There's also the question of how the team should approach Lynch's possible return. When healthy, he's an obvious difference-maker, but the offense is rolling right now, averaging 32.83 points per game in the last six weeks. Would Lynch benefit from a few touches in Week 17 to see where he's at physically? Would he be able to step right into a playoff game and contribute after such a long absence?
Offensive line coach Tom Cable is in charge of the Seahawks' run game. He addressed how Lynch would have to approach coming back.
"I think we’re counting on him to get healthy, whenever that is," Cable said. "And once that happens, for him to come back in and be able to adapt to this football team and the way it is and the way it acts and the way it’s moving right now collectively... that’ll be his challenge.
"I think if he’s right and ready to go and all that, I’ve said this before, he’s a fine football player. And so it’s his ability to adapt to us really, who we are and how we’ve come together as a group and a team."
Right now, the Seahawks are going with Christine Michael and Bryce Brown, with Fred Jackson handling third-down duties. There's no doubt it's an unproven backfield, but is it good enough considering how well the passing game is working?
Carroll was asked what Lynch would bring to the offense if he were to return.
"He’s an incredible football player," Carroll said. "He always has been. That poses all kinds of problems for your opponent. He has extraordinary gifts. It’d be great to get that done."
Cable talked about what's different about the offense from when Lynch was last on the field.
"I see us being a little more detailed," he said. "I see us playing at a very high tempo, accepting challenges, overcoming issues when they come up, whether it’s in a game or in practice. I think we’re growing up in a big way, and so I think maturity is probably the thing that stands out to me more than anything. And that’s across the board."
Lynch is not practicing with the team this week, but there's a chance he could get back in the mix after the Seahawks' matchup with the Rams on Sunday.