GLENDALE, Ariz. -- When cornerback Jeremy Lane returned to the Seattle Seahawks last week, the first word to come to mind might have been "awkward."
How could it not have been? The Seahawks had agreed to send Lane to the Houston Texans in the Duane Brown trade, but his inclusion in the deal fell through when he failed his physical. So back he went to a team that had just decided to trade him.
Awkward indeed. But the word that coach Pete Carroll and defensive coordinator Kris Richard used repeatedly to describe having Lane back was "fortunate," and the Seahawks feel especially fortunate for that now that Richard Sherman will miss the remainder of the season with a ruptured Achilles.