They can’t afford any more starters getting hurt.
They have most of their starting positions settled. For the vast majority of them, it’s now just about getting the regular season started in 10 days.
Yet the Seahawks enter what on the surface could seem to be a throw-away preseason finale Thursday night against Oakland at CenturyLink Field with at least one starting job to settle, a pass rush to find and a rookie linebacker to work in his accelerated preparation to start on defense. Plus, they have wide-receiver and running-back rosters to fill out on offense.
“We have a number of competitive situations where guys are battling,” coach Pete Carroll said.