Julian Love back at Seahawks practice ahead of Chargers

The Seattle secondary has been running on fumes for a week, so even a limited tag on the injury report counts as good news.

Bob Condotta

@bcondotta

Good news for Seahawks with safety Julian Love indeed participating in practice on a limited basis today as he begins road to getting back on field Sunday:

Here's how it happened. Love's calf tightened up at practice last Thursday, and by Friday Mike Macdonald had ruled him out for Week 3 in Washington. Macdonald didn't hide how much it hurt: "you're really bummed about Julian, obviously, because he's had such a great start to the season." He also admitted he didn't know how long it was going to be, and that's where the worry came from.

That great start is real. Love had an interception in each of Seattle's first 2 games, which is exactly what you want from a Pro Bowl safety. Without him, and with Ty Okada still out with the hamstring that has kept him off the field all season, the Seahawks went into Washington with AJ Finley and Rodney Thomas II as the starting safeties.

And honestly, the defense held up. Seattle kept the Commanders to 248 total yards and let them convert just 3 of 13 third downs. It still lost 33-31, because Washington's defense scored a touchdown and 2 more came after Seattle turnovers gave them a short field. Losing a game like that while your best safety watches in street clothes is about as Seahawks as it gets.

The plan this week was always to get him on the field in some capacity, and Macdonald said as much heading into Wednesday. Love showed up for it.

Bob Condotta

@bcondotta

Julian Love walking to practice today. t.co/ic5vGOuLSV

Limited is not full, and calves are tricky. Plenty of guys tweak one and are back in a week, and plenty push it too fast and lose a month. Okada didn't practice again, so the depth behind Love hasn't gotten any better. That makes his calf the most important body part in the building right now.

Next up is the Chargers on Sunday at Lumen Field. Watch the injury report Thursday and Friday. If Love goes from limited to full, he's playing and Seattle gets its ballhawk back. If he stays limited and goes into the weekend questionable, it's a game-time call, and you'd expect Macdonald to stay careful with a safety this good this early in the year.