Already hampered by two major season-ending knee injuries along the offensive line, the Seattle Seahawks lost left tackle Russell Okung for the rest of the season on a play that coach Pete Carroll called "out of line" on Friday.
Okung suffered a torn right pectoral muscle during Seattle's 31-14 win over Philadelphia on Thursday night. The Seattle Times reported that the muscle is torn enough that it will probably require surgery to reattach it. A six-month recovery usually follows the surgery, the newspaper said.
During his midday news conference, Carroll called the injury "significant." Okung was thrown by Philadelphia defensive end Trent Cole away from a play inside the final two minutes and after the whistle had blown. Okung and Cole engaged on a running play to Leon Washington that went to the right side. On the television broadcast, Okung appears to let up as the whistle blows, then gets flung over Cole's hip and to the ground.
When asked if it was a dirty play, Carroll said it was "a bad play."
"He got grabbed under the arm and thrown down to the ground. It had nothing to do with the play. It wasn't a late hit," Carroll said. "It might look like he was trying to disengage and that might be what they say and all, but it was really late and it was really out of line unfortunately."
Okung had to be restrained and pulled away from Cole after the game ended. He was holding his arm gingerly in the locker room after the game.
Okung, the only Seattle offensive lineman to start every game this season, is the third Seahawks starting lineman to land on injured reserve. The Seahawks lost the entire right side of their line last month when rookies John Moffitt and James Carpenter went down with knee injuries that required surgery. Moffitt was hurt in Seattle's win over Baltimore, and Carpenter was lost when he tore his ACL during practice just a few days later.
Chung's replacement is uncertain. Paul McQuistan finished the game for him on Thursday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
