Russell Wilson is five games into the 10th season of his NFL career, and to date, he has never missed a game. Wilson has played in and started every one of Seattle’s 149 regular season games and each of the team’s 16 postseason contests, and has rarely even missed a practice during that time.
In the wake of the finger injury he suffered during the team’s Thursday night loss to the division rival Los Angeles Rams, it’s possible that Wilson’s impressive streak could come to an end. According to a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Wilson is set to get an MRI on Friday, and then visit hand specialist Dr. Steven Shin in Los Angeles. The belief, per Rapoport, is that Wilson has “mallet finger,” which essentially amounts to a sprain that makes it difficult to flex said finger.
Wilson could be seen on the sideline trying to flex the finger and get a grip on the football throughout the rest of the game following the injury, but the Seahawks replaced him in the lineup with backup Geno Smith. Smith would surely be counted on to step into the lineup were Wilson to have to miss time for the first time in his career.
Already without running back Chris Carson due to a neck injury, the Seahawks can scarcely afford to lose their star quarterback for any significant length of time — specially after dropping to 2-3 and falling into the basement of the NFL’s toughest division. Wilson will almost surely do anything he can to play through the injury, but if he can’t flex his finger strongly enough to grip the ball, there may be no choice but to sit. The MRI and specialist opinion will tell us a lot about what we should expect over the next few weeks.
