Seahawks sign offensive tackle, is it ominous news for Charles Cross?

Jason Peters could start as soon as Sunday against the Lions: Seaside Joe 1655

The Seattle Seahawks made history with their two rookie offensive tackles in 2022, but now would be a great time for Charles Cross and Abe Lucas to stop twinning. As you already know, the Seahawks removed both Cross and Lucas from Week 1’s loss to the L.A. Rams, with the former suffering a toe injury and the latter apparently not fully recovered from pre-season ailments, according to Pete Carroll.

Now the Seahawks have responded by signing 41-year-old left tackle Jason Peters, a move that I would call more than “insurance” and it unfortunately brings back memories of another Seattle offensive tackle with a toe injury.

A Google search for “NFL offensive lineman toe injury” brings up the recent Cross news as the first result, but then jumps back ten years to another Seahawks left tackle who suffered a foot ailment near the beginning of the season against an NFC West opponent:

Russell Okung’s 2013 turf toe against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 2 resulted in him missing eight games. The Seahawks were well equipped to withstand the injury then—not because of backup Paul McQuistan but thanks to how talented and ready the rest of the roster was in 2013—and went 7-1 in his absence. Not only did Seattle got 7-1 without Okung, they also won the game in which he got hurt and the game in which he returned, so really the Seahawks went 9-1 without a true starting left tackle.

This Seattle team doesn’t feel as ready to pick up the slack from the loss of their top-10 pick at left tackle as that Seahawks team, a potential reality that is of course exacerbated by the ongoing injury issues with Lucas.

The Seahawks signed Jason Peters to the practice squad for now, but will elevate him to the active roster by Sunday against the Detroit Lions because the only other options besides the two 2022 rookies are Stone Forsythe and Jake Curhan. I have watched every Pete Carroll interview since the game and have not gotten the sense by any measure that Cross is merely a medical test away from starting.

I HAVE NO INSIDE OR OUTSIDE INFORMATION TO CONFIRM THIS, JUST MY EXPECTATION BASED ON PAST INJURIES AND CARROLL’S TEMPERMENT: It feels like Cross is going to go on short-term IR and miss some time.

If there is no Cross on Sunday, and there is a Lucas, it would seem like Peters could be the backup at both positions. If there is neither a Cross nor a Lucas, it would seem like Peters actually starts at right tackle because Stone Forsythe is far better than Jake Curhan.

The Cowboys signed Peters just before the start of last season following an injury to Tyron Smith and he played both guard and right tackle for Dallas in 2022. I asked a Cowboys writer if Peters played competently for Dallas last season and he enthusiastically answered “absolutely”, so I am more hopeful for this 41-year-old than I am for the 25-year-old Curhan after he allowed four pressures in 16 snaps in Week 1.

Do any of you remember the 2013 NFL Draft? The first round that had not one, not two, not three, but SEVEN picks in the top-13 who eventually signed with the Seattle Seahawks?

Pop Quiz Hot Shot: Name those seven players.

Then you recall that when the Eagles drafted Lane Johnson with the fourth overall pick, the talk at the time was that Philadelphia would soon move him to left tackle as a replacement for the aging Peters. That was TEN YEARS AGO.

Peters was a first-team All-Pro in 2013 and he played seven more seasons for the Eagles, solidifying Johnson as the best right tackle in the NFL, then he started 15 games for the Bears in 2021 and appeared in 235 snaps for the Cowboys in 2022. I mean, the same year that Okung missed half of the season, Peters finished second in Comeback Player of the Year voting (he missed all of 2012), and he’s still playing. Peters is almost seven years older than Okung, who retired in 2020.

I’m not saying Seahawks fans should be thrilled that the team is having to lean on a 41-year-old tackle, especially so soon in the season and at a time when Seattle desperately needs good vibes (with Lions pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson on deck, a player who looked unblockable against the Chiefs in Week 1), but maybe Jason Peters is one of the rare options who can step into a pivotal role after an entire offseason break and handle his own.

Additionally, and this is a few steps ahead so maybe not to be taken too seriously, Peters might be insurance for Damien Lewis (who was roughed up by Aaron Donald for about five pressures) and Phil Haynes if the Seahawks need a guard at any point this season.

With any luck, all of this is for nothing. Cross misses a game or two and Lucas doesn’t have any more problems that linger throughout the season. But merely the fact that Peters signed with Seattle could indicate that he’s expecting to be a significant contributor because I don’t know that he would have been waiting to sign with a team unless he was waiting for a team that actually needed him.

I think Jason Peters is here to play and I think he will as soon as this Sunday against the Detroit Lions.

Not only did the Seahawks get Okung back in 2013, he was a significant contributor on a team that won the Super Bowl. And though he had a consistent injury record throughout his career, Okung probably played an above average amount for a left tackle in the five years after his turf toe: He started 73 of a possible 80 regular games from 2014-2018 and didn’t miss a playoff game.

Seattle isn’t in the same position as a team now that they were in 2013, but the only focus here is on nursing Charles Cross back to health and moving past this toe injury for good. That’s probably not going to happen this week and I don’t think the Seahawks are in a dire situation because of it. They got by with Paul McQuistan once before, they can get by again.

Just no more Jake Curhan.

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Answer: Luke Joeckel, Dion Jordan, Ezekiel Ansah, Barkevious Mingo, Chance Warmack (offseason), D.J. Fluker, Sheldon Richardson