The Seahawks are likely to start C.J. Prosise at tailback, according to an article in the Seattle Times. Christine Michael has a hamstring injury, and the team also could be souring on him.
As a disclaimer, I missed this one when putting together the Friday supplement. I was looking at an injury report that I thought was final, and it didn’t have any mention of Michael. They’ve got him as questionable, and he was limited in practice Friday.
Whether Michael is actually hurt, I don’t know. He wasn’t injured on Monday, practiced with no issues on Wednesday and Thursday and according to this article didn’t appear to be hurt at the first half hour of the practice on Friday.
The article pokes around at the idea that Michael is more likely to be demoted because of the way he’s been playing. He’s carried 31 times for only 93 yards in the last three games. Offensive line coach Tom Cable says errors were made by runners and blockers and almost all of Michael’s 5 carries (for 1 yard) on Monday night. He was pulled for good halfway through the third quarter of the game on Monday night, with Prosise getting all the reps in the fourth quarter.
Prosise also played a ton in the game down at New Orleans.
With the running game going nowhere, the thinking might be that the offense might be more effective if it just went to more of a pass-oriented approach from the get-go, with a running back on the field with some receiving ability.
So for Week 10, if you’re in a PPR league, Prosise looks like a viable option – probably a top 25 or 30 running back for this week. Put him at about 30 in a standard format. Probably best to avoid Michael.
If Michael sits out, the team’s other back on Sunday would be their other rookie, Alex Collins.
Thomas Rawls is practicing, and he’ll likely be added into the mix in Week 11, probably moving ahead of Michael immediately.
—Ian Allan