Seahawks tight end Jimmy Graham suffered a torn patellar tendon in Seattle's thrilling 39-30 win over the Steelers.. The injury will require surgery, coach Pete Carroll told reporters.
Graham was carted off in the fourth quarter with an air cast on his right leg after coming down awkwardly on a jump ball in the end zone. The tight end left the locker room following the game on crutches wearing a full right leg support before exiting on a cart, NFL Media's Steve Wyche reported.
It's been a rough first season in Seattle for Graham. The tight end exits 2015 with just 605 yards and two touchdowns in 11 games played. That production isn't at all what Seattle was expecting when they traded Pro Bowl center Max Unger and the 31st pick in the draft -- linebacker Stephone Anthony -- to the Saints for the tight end and a fourth-rounder in the offseason. The Seahawks bet the house and the future on Graham translating his success under aerial wizard Drew Brees to a run-heavy offense under Russell Wilson, and have so far come up empty.
The shame of it all is that Graham was having possibly his best outing of the season against Pittsburgh, which included a momentum-swinging 36-yard grab in the third quarter just two drives before his injury. Graham left the game with four catches for 75 yards.
Graham will miss the remainder of the season, and his absence on the streaking Seahawks' offense will be missed. In his stead, backup tight end Luke Willson will have to pick up the slack. Willson has posted just one 100-plus yard receiving game in his career and caught just one ball for 12 yards in Sunday's win -- the play just so happened to come immediately after Graham's injury.
With backup running back Thomas Rawls and quarterback Russell Wilson putting up career games in back-to-back wins, Seattle is now looking to make an aggressive run into the postseason, but must push on without their star offseason acquisition and second-leading receiver.
