Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin admits to feeling a sense of frustration over missing the past two games with a knee injury.
The Seahawks' leading receiver sat out a large portion of training camp and didn't participate in any of the four preseason games. He returned in time for Week 1 but suffered an MCL sprain to his other knee early in the game against the Denver Broncos.
Baldwin appeared in 100 consecutive games, including the postseason, heading into the 2018 regular season, so it's easy to see why a player accustomed to playing would feel frustrated.
But the good news is finally here for Baldwin -- coach Pete Carroll told reporters Friday that Baldwin will play Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. The veteran says he's looking forward to rejoining his teammates on the field.
"I'm ready to go," Baldwin said, via the Seahawks' official website. "This is what I do, so I'm excited about getting back out there ... I've never sat out this long.
"I haven't missed games since my second year in the NFL. It's been a very long time since I had to overcome the injury obstacle. Of course, I've dealt with injuries throughout the course of those games that I've played, but nothing to the significance of where I had to miss time."
The wide receiver is ready to play and make a difference for the Seahawks.
"I'm ready to go," Baldwin said. "That's going to be their call -- there's a lot of things that go into it. Obviously, the precautionary reasons of making sure that I'm healthy fully so that I can go for the rest of the season and not just this game.
"I get that, but as a competitor and as somebody who hasn't missed games that often, who had an 89-game [regular-season] streak, I feel like I know my body pretty well. I feel like I'm ready to go."
Meanwhile, wide receiver Tyler Lockett currently leads the Seahawks in receiving.
Baldwin, however, will provide an immediate boost to the Seahawks' passing attack, which enters the weekend ranked 22nd in the league (208.7 yards per game).
The eighth-year pro has an established rapport with quarterback Russell Wilson, who targeted Baldwin 442 times -- 332 resulting in catches -- in the passing game from 2014 to 2017. Baldwin led the team in receiving during that span, including producing two 1,000-yard receiving campaigns.
