The Seahawks spent a lot of time talking up running back Christine Michael over the course of the preseason and it looks like he’ll get his chance to show he’s worthy of it in the regular season as well.
The Seahawks released their depth chart for their opener against the Dolphins this Sunday and Michael occupies the top slot. Thomas Rawls, who spent the offseason rehabbing from a broken ankle, is the No. 2 tailback. He’s expected to play this weekend, but coach Pete Carroll said Monday that he’s not ready for a starter’s workload.
“He’s ready in the next couple weeks to get back in where he can start a game, take a game over and do all of the things that he can do,” Carroll said, via ESPN.com. “It’s still time to take care of him as we get him back. He only carried the ball a couple times so far. ... This is his second preseason game in a sense, as far as relative to the other guys. So we’ll see how he does. I’d love for him to carry the ball quite a bit in this game, and then we’ll know where we stand going into the next week.”
Rawls’ workload this weekend will likely give a hint about how the depth chart will look in Week Two, although Michael’s performance will surely have something to do with that decision as well.
The Seahawks also listed tight end Jimmy Graham at the top of the depth chart. Carroll has said that a decision about Graham’s status for Sunday will be made late this week.