When the Pittsburgh Steelers play the Seattle Seahawks next Sunday, they might not have to face running back Marshawn Lynch, one of the league’s most violent runners.
Lynch, who missed the Seahawks Sunday game against the San Francisco 49ers because of a lingering abdomen injury, will reportedly be in Philadelphia on Monday being checked by a specialist to see if he has a sports hernia that will require season-ending surgery.
“We rested him all week and rehabbed him all week long, and really the first time he took a real look at it was out here before the game. He just couldn’t get going,” Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said after Sunday’s win over the 49ers. “So we’re going to try to take care of him. He’s going to make a trip on Monday to go see Dr. Meyers back in Philadelphia and see if we can figure out what’s going on. There’s a lot going on there, so we’ve got to see what that means.”
Lynch has rushed for 417 yards and 3 touchdowns so far this season on 111 carries in the 7 games that he’s played in this season. Sunday marked the third game he’s missed this season as he previously missed two games earlier in the year because of a hamstring injury.
If Lynch is indeed sidelined against the Steelers, the Seahawks will rely on Thomas Rawls to carry load for them at running back. Rawls has rushed for 604 yards and 2 touchdowns on 101 carries so far this season and that includes the 209 he had on the ground on Sunday in his team’s big win over the 49ers.
