Pete Carroll continues to insist Thomas Rawls will be the Seattle Seahawks' starting running back when he's fully healthy, but it might not happen out of the gate.
"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. "It's still time to take care of him as we get him back. He only carried the ball a couple times so far. But he's done everything we could ask of him. He's had an extraordinary offseason of hard work. Everybody admires the heck out of him. He was here every day throughout the entire offseason getting ready and just did a great job. So it's a great accomplishment for him. And he looks like he's at full speed, ready to go."
Rawls broke out in 2015, displayed extraordinary power and ability to pinball off defenders. The brawny, compact back plowed over opponents for 5.6 yards per carry, 830 yards and four touchdowns before his rookie season was prematurely ended by a broken ankle.
The 23-year-old Central Michigan product didn't return until the final preseason game, taking two totes for seven yards.
With Christine Michael's Awakening taking place this preseason, the Seahawks have the luxury of bringing Rawls along slow, ensuring he's completely healthy before upping the workload.
"We're just making progress with him," Carroll said. "You don't want to rush him. 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. It's just really bringing him along properly and carefully. We want to make sure we take care of him."
With Michael showing spry cuts in space, keen vision and tackle breaking ability, the Seahawks will boast a stellar one-two punch in the backfield. But we won't see it in full force until Rawls is fully healthy.