Seattle Seahawks running back Chris Carson has not played since Week 4 due to a neck injury. Let’s check in on Carson and establish what we know about his injury and timeline to return to fantasy football lineups.
Chris Carson’s neck injury is not believed to be serious
Neck injuries can be very tricky. They make recovery time and projected return to play difficult to predict. The good news surrounding Carson’s injury is the team does not believe it is serious. The bad news is it’s still a neck injury.
From a fantasy perspective, it’s tough to get too excited about the prospect of Carson returning. In his final two games prior to getting hurt, Carson played just 43% and 45% of the offensive snaps. For context, he played 78% of the snaps in Week 1 and 63% in Week 2.
The Seahawks’ backfield has a lot of moving parts
Alex Collins has been the clear primary back in Carson’s absence. Meanwhile, DeeJay Dallas and Travis Homer have mixed in on passing downs. With this being written prior to Seattle’s Monday Night Football tilt with the Saints, it’s uncertain exactly how Pete Carroll will integrate a returning Rashaad Penny into the fold.
Additionally, there’s the issue of Russell Wilson’s absence due to his finger injury. It’s confounding to take what this offense looks like now with Geno Smith and project anything forward — things will change once Wilson returns.
When can fantasy managers expect Carson to return?
Initially, the Seahawks expressed optimism that Carson would miss the minimum three weeks on IR. However, more recent updates shed a darker light. The notoriously optimistic yet untruthful Pete Carroll said there was no timetable for Carson’s return.
According to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times, Carroll said that Carson was staying conditioned for “if/when he can return.” That is a substantial break from Carroll’s usual rosy outlook.
From the moment I heard the phrase “neck injury,” I was worried about Carson. Once he went on IR, my initial thought was that he’s done for the season. To be clear, there has not been any news suggesting Carson’s season is over. Still, I stand by my belief that Carson won’t return this year.
If Carson does return, when might that be?
Assuming I’m wrong (and I hope that I am) and Carson does make it back, we can safely rule out a return when he is first eligible. At this point, I would say the best-case scenario is Carson returns Week 10 following the Seahawks’ Week 9 bye. I would expect Wilson to return then as well.
Upon his return, should it happen, Carson would walk into an uncertain backfield situation, especially if Collins and Penny play well over the next two weeks. Fantasy managers would be wise to try and sell Carson based on any positive report that may emerge in the coming weeks.