After two months of being sidelined following an ATV accident in July that left him was a “really bad concussion,” Seahawks defensive tackle Malik McDowell has been cleared to resume workouts.
McDowell has been a spectator at practice the last two days for the Seahawks. He had not been present at practices for most of the first two months of the year following his accident. Head coach Pete Carroll said Tuesday that McDowell was finally cleared to resume workouts two weeks ago.
“It is a slow process to get him back out here,” Carroll said. “He hasn’t done anything for months. We are being very careful of course. But it is a good sign for him.”
Seattle hasn’t closed the door on McDowell potentially returning to the field this season, but it remains a bit of a long shot proposition. McDowell, one of two second-round picks selected by Seattle in May, remains on the non-football injury list for Seattle. Since he’s been largely unable to partake in physical activity since his accident, he isn’t close to being in football shape. The Seahawks have until the day after Week 11 to either add McDowell to their active roster on end his season by moving him to the injured reserve list. It gives Seattle five weeks to see if McDowell can get anywhere close to playing shape.
“Malik is now back to working some and that process begins,” Carroll said. “I don’t have any indication of what that means but it’s great for the young guy to just have a chance to get back and be involved and get active again. So we will see how that goes.
“He is working out with the trainers. They are just kind of re-entering the conditioning phase, just trying to get him back in some shape and all of that. Just to get him moving. So it is a positive sign for him and I’m glad he can finally get going again. He really wants to be playing football.”
If McDowell does not play this season and remains on the non-football injury list, he would not accrue a season of service time. McDowell would essentially miss the entire season and begin the first year of his rookie contract next year.