Carroll said on Wednesday after practice that the Seahawks will put Sidney Rice on the season-ending injured reserve list after he suffered concussions in two of the past three games.
Carroll said rookie linebacker Michael Morgan will be elevated from the practice squad to the active roster, and receiver Deon Butler likely will be active for the first time this season since moving from the PUP (physically unable to perform) list to the active roster.
“We have to give him time,” Carroll said. “So he’s going to have to sit for a number of weeks before he’d be able to play anyway. And so we just want to make sure that we take care of him, and don’t bring him back too soon, and get him right.”
Rice has dealt with injuries all season. He missed the first two games with a labrum tear in his shoulder, and has often been on the injury report with knee and foot issues.
Carroll said he does not expect Rice to need surgery to repair his shoulder before next season.
According to Carroll, Rice took the news hard. Rice was not available for comment because it’s the team’s protocol to not make players available until they have passed concussion tests.
“It’s the right thing for us to do now,” Carroll said. “He knows that, he just doesn’t want to do it.”
Injuries were a concern when Seattle signed the free agent to a five-year, $41 million contract – $18.5 million of it guaranteed.
Rice, 25, missed 10 games in the 2010 season with Minnesota because of microfracture hip surgery. He has played a full 16-game season only once in four years.
The year he played a full season – 2009 – also was his best as a pro. He finished with 83 catches for 1,312 yards and eight touchdowns, and he made his first and only Pro Bowl appearance.
SUIT GETS GO-AHEAD
A Dallas federal judge rejected the NFL’s request to throw out a lawsuit filed by ticket holders displaced during the seating fiasco at the Super Bowl at Cowboys Stadium, and ruled the breach-of-contract claim can proceed.
The lawsuit was filed after 1,250 temporary seats were declared unsafe just hours before the February game between Green Bay and Pittsburgh, and 475 ticket holders were forced to watch from standing-room locations while others were relocated and missed part of the game.
EXTRA POINTS
Jaguars interim coach Mel Tucker fired receivers coach Johnny Cox, and the team also waived starting receiver Jason Hill, a former Washington State Cougar. … Bills wide receiver Stevie Johnson was fined $10,000 for his second-quarter touchdown celebration that mocked Plaxico Burress and the New York Jets on Sunday. … The Giants signed former Washington Huskies quarterback and Seattle Seahawks receiver Isaiah Stanback to their practice squad.
McClatchy news services contributed to this report.
Eric D. Williams: 253-597-8437 eric.williams@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/seahawks
