The Seahawks will be playing today’s game against the Lions without both of their starting offensive tackles. Right tackle Abe Lucas was placed on injured reserve earlier this week and will undergo surgery on his knee. On Friday, left tackle Charles Cross was also ruled out with his turf toe issue. Pete Carroll has named Stone Forsythe and Jake Curhan as the starters in their place, but the team also signed two new OL this week just in case.
While that sounds bad, there is a silver lining here. The Lions are also going to be down at least one starter for their own offensive line. Yesterday, Detroit downgraded left tackle Taylor Decker to out for today’s game.
Buy Seahawks TicketsThe #Lions have downgraded LT Taylor Decker (ankle) to out for Sunday’s game against the #Seahawks.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 16, 2023
This is a significant blow, as Decker is one of the league’s best on the blindside. They could slide Penei Sewell over to start in his place this week, but then they’d be opening up a hole at right tackle. This should represent an opportunity for Uchenna Nwosu and the other edge rushers on the right side of Seattle’s defensive line to get some pressures against a backup.
As for the run game, the Lions tend to rush to their right side behind Sewell anyway. That will put Boye Mafe’s run defense to the test – but he showed a lot of promise in that department during the preseason.
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