Seattle Seahawks tight end Jimmy Graham saw his 2015 season come to an abrupt end when he suffered a torn patellar tendon in a game last November against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
While general manager John Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll have been fairly optimistic that Graham would be ready in time for the start of the regular season, they were able to see another encouraging sign for themselves on Thursday. Graham was on the practice fields during OTAs on Thursday and managed to catch some passes from quarterbacks Russell Wilson, Trevone Boykin and Jake Heaps while jogging around during early workouts.
While it’s far from being ready from the rigors of the football season, it’s a good sign that Graham will be ready before games start in September.
“We’re thinking that that’s real possibility, yeah,” Carroll said. “That’s kind of what we are thinking. We have to avoid setbacks, obviously. But we are kind of counting on it.”
Carroll said that running back Thomas Rawls is farther along in the recovery process than Graham is at this point, but both players are progressing well from their surgeries late last season. Rawls suffered a broken ankle last December against the Baltimore Ravens.
“Those guys are both making really good progress.” Carroll said. “Thomas is running and Jimmy is back to running on the field the last couple of days, which is great. He’s made terrific progress. Both of their attitudes are really good. They are really positive about making it.”