Seahawks' David Moore to miss start of regular season with shoulder injury
The Seattle Seahawks were already dealing with a depleted receiver corps when second-round pick DK Metcalf underwent knee surgery on Tuesday, and now they’re down another key contributor.
Third-year wideout David Moore suffered a shoulder injury in practice on Thursday, which is expected to keep him out for the start of the regular season.
“David hurt his shoulder and he’s going to be out for a bit,” head coach Pete Carroll said at practice on Friday, via USA Today. “I’ll let you know more when I know more about it.”
Moore is not expected to require surgery, but NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports that he will seek a second opinion. He could be a candidate to land on the IR, and the Seahawks could make him one of their two players who are eligible to return after at least eight weeks.
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After playing just one game his rookie season, Moore broke out in 2018 to rake in 445 receiving yards and five touchdowns. He earned his way into the starting lineup and trails only Tyler Lockett among returning players in receiving yards.
Moore and Metcalf were expected to compete for the second wide receiver spot, but their availability this season remains in question. Although Metcalf’s surgery was deemed “minor,” no invasive procedure can be quickly overlooked. Carroll did say that Metcalf will be "active" next week, but there's no word yet on if he'll be available against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 8.
Who will replace (Metcalf and) Moore’s production?
Russell Wilson has had to make lemonade out of lemons more times than he’d wished considering the Seahawks’ wide receivers over the years, but losing Moore and potentially Metcalf for any period of time will still hurt.
Beyond their top three receivers, the Seahawks will likely turn to Jaron Brown, but this could also be a chance for fourth-round pick Gary Jennings Jr., who racked up 2,013 yards and 14 touchdowns in his final two seasons at West Virginia, to shine.
One other name to keep an eye out for is undrafted rookie Jazz Ferguson. The 6-foot-5 receiver from Northwestern State has a similar physicality to Metcalf and ran a 4.45 40-yard dash at the combine, 12th-best among receivers.
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