Biggs: Season hanging in the balance for Walter Jones

A week before the season started, one veteran agent said it looked like future Pro Bowl left tackle Walter Jones would miss the season.

The Seattle Seahawks certainly never acknowledged that as a possibility, and a source close to the player dismissed the notion.

No one is ruling Jones out for the entire season now, but it wasn’t a positive development Wednesday when coach Jim Mora said Jones will be re-evaluated after the team’s bye in two weeks on Oct. 25.

That leaves Jones one small step away from injured reserve, which is where he finished last season after a knee injury in November that required microfracture surgery on his left knee. Coincidentally, that same left knee is an issue right now. Jones recently had arthroscopic surgery on it, and returned to practice for the week leading up the Bears’ game in Seattle on Sept. 27, but he has yet to play and now he will be shut down for a couple weeks.

“We're talking about a Hall of Famer,’’ Mora said, “and there's a lot of factors that go into it. What's best for the team? What kind of respect do you show Walter? If Walter can get back, man, how long do we wait for him? What if we IR'd him and then two weeks later he's ready to go, would you look back and just be sick about it? It's a puzzle. It's a puzzle, and we talk about it every day.’’

Yes, it is a puzzle, but not having Jones has left a batter line in limbo without the biggest piece to the puzzle. The Seahawks have only two healthy tackles right now in Ray Willis and Brandon Frye. Sean Locklear is sidelined with a high ankle sprain, and the club re-signed Kyle Williams to the practice squad today.

“If we didn't see it as our best solution then we would make a move," Mora said. "If there was a better solution then we would. This is the solution we have and we're going to make it work.”

If Jones, who was sidelined in training camp with persistent back spasms, doesn’t shown he can perform in a matter of weeks, the solution will likely become placing him on injured reserve.

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