The Seattle Seahawks are bracing for quarterback Russell Wilson to miss at least a month and possibly up to eight weeks with a ruptured tendon in the middle finger of his right hand, sources tell ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
The injury will likely require surgery, sources say.
Wilson met with a hand specialist in Los Angeles on Friday after injuring the middle finger on his throwing hand Thursday night in a 26-17 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
Coach Pete Carroll, who described the injury postgame as a bad sprain, told 710 ESPN Seattle that the doctor will determine whether Wilson has what’s known as mallet finger and how that may affect his availability.
Carroll didn’t know enough about the X-rays Wilson had postgame to comment on what they revealed, but did acknowledge there was an issue with the finger.
“But there’s something going on,” he said. “There’s definitely something going on and we’ve got to figure out what the extent of it is and what is the next step to deal with.”
With Wilson’s status for next Sunday’s game at Pittsburgh up in the air, his streak of 149 consecutive starts — the longest by an active quarterback — is in jeopardy. According to Elias Sports Bureau, only Peyton Manning (208) has started more consecutive games to begin his career among quarterbacks since the 1970 merger. Wilson has played through some notable injuries, including a sprained ankle and sprained MCL in 2016.
Wilson was injured in the third quarter when his hand banged against Aaron Donald’s arm just as he released a deep throw. The broadcast showed the tip of Wilson’s finger unnaturally bent downward. He was examined for several minutes on the sideline by the Seahawks’ team doctor and members of their athletic training staff, who watched Wilson grip a football and then bandaged his finger.
Wilson returned for one series, throwing a short pass on a three-and-out, then was replaced by Geno Smith for the remainder of the game.
Wilson appears to be in line to start next Sunday’s game against the Steelers in Pittsburgh. His most recent start was in 2017 with the New York Giants.
ESPN’s Brady Henderson contributed to this report