Seahawks without RBs Carson, Hyde vs. Rams

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The Seahawks’ available running backs against the Rams will be rookie DeeJay Dallas, Travis Homer and Collins plus fullback Nick Bellore. Dallas has started the last two games but Homer out-snapped him last week 31 to 20 while Collins played 13 snaps in his first game since 2018. Dallas leads Seattle’s running backs over that span with 72 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries.

The Seahawks will also be without their top two cornerbacks Sunday with Shaquill Griffin (hamstring) and Quinton Dunbar (knee) ruled out. Tre Flowers will fill one starting spot, but it’s not clear who will fill the other. Thorpe, Seattle’s captain on special teams, is one candidate. Others include Linden Stephens, D.J. Reed and Ryan Neal, who previously started at strong safety while Jamal Adams was out.

The Seahawks are 6-2 despite allowing the most passing yards (2,897) through eight games in NFL history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. In fact, no team has ever allowed that many passing yards through nine games.

Harrison has been waiting to make his Seahawks debut since joining their practice squad on Oct. 7. The holdup initially was that the 350-pound, 31-year-old Harrison had to work himself back into football shape. He had been undecided over the offseason about playing in 2020 due to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, which he said were eased once he saw how the league was handling travel protocols and other safety measures.

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll has said for the last few weeks that Harrison is physically ready to play. The holdup, according to Carroll, has been the absence of an opening in Seattle’s defensive-tackle rotation, which has consisted of Jarran Reed, Poona Ford and Mone. The ankle injury that landed Mone on IR creates that opening.

“We had a plan when I was coming in,” Harrison said Thursday in his first comments to reporters since joining the Seahawks. “I needed to work myself back into football shape. The only way you can get into football shape is actually playing football, so I was at home working out, trying to do as much as I could without exposing myself in too many public situations. But I spoke to the coach, I spoke to the general manager before I got here and we knew it was going to be a process. That’s why I’ve been OK with it just working from the ground up.”

The Seahawks will also be without starting center Ethan Pocic (concussion) against the Rams. Kyke Fuller will make his first career start in Pocic’s absence.