Back from his trip
KIRKLAND, Wash. – Ken Lucas doesn’t understand all the fuss.
Sure, the Seattle Seahawks cornerback took a hard fall that bruised his lung and left him gasping for breath last weekend at San Francisco. But he insisted Wednesday that he’s fine, and he believes he can play Sunday at St. Louis.
“I had torn cartilage in my rib last minicamp. That was way more painful than this,” Lucas said. “I expected to have a little soreness the next day, but it was nothing. I’ve felt worse on days when I’ve had nothing wrong with me.”
The Seahawks would rather be cautious, and that’s why Lucas was being sent for a second MRI on Wednesday. Doctors want to compare the images with those taken Sunday when Lucas was injured.
He’s listed as questionable.
“Everybody’s in disbelief over the possibility of me going out there to play,” Lucas said. “I don’t feel there’s anything wrong. Things got over exaggerated a little bit. I was coughing up a little blood, but it was nothing serious.”
While diving for a second-quarter interception, Lucas landed on the ball and San Francisco’s Brandon Lloyd tumbled over him. The worst part of the play seemed to occur when Lucas’ face mask got caught in the turf, jamming his head down.
“It looked like one of those things where you land on the ball and get the wind knocked out of you,” Seattle cornerback Marcus Trufant said. “I thought he was going to get up after he caught his breath.”
The fourth-year cornerback was down several minutes before being carted off, and television cameras captured him wheezing to regain his breath. He was hospitalized Sunday night as a precaution.
“I tried to get up, but I didn’t have enough energy,” he recalled. “I was kind of dizzy because I had my air cut off. I had difficulty breathing. Once I got put on the cart and in the ambulance, I straightened up pretty fast.”
Lucas has been having a solid season, sharing the NFL lead with four interceptions going into last weekend’s games. He earned a starting job in training camp, beating out free agent pickup Bobby Taylor.
Coach Mike Holmgren expects to make a decision later in the week on whether Lucas can play.
“He feels like he’s going to be ready to go,” Holmgren said. “Now we have to see the comparison to what his lungs looked like before. The thing he has to be able to do is just breathe.”
Holmgren also said there’s a possibility defensive end Grant Wistrom could return Sunday from a cracked left kneecap. It would be about one week earlier than initially expected, but Wistrom, listed as doubtful, is eager to face his former team.
“He wants to play. He has made big progress,” Holmgren said.
Another end, Chike Okeafor, is questionable with a neck injury. Receiver Bobby Engram, who has missed the last three games with a sprained left ankle, also is listed as questionable.