Seahawks punter Jon Ryan suffered a concussion while running for 26 yards on a fake punt on Thursday night, leaving some to wonder why coach Pete Carroll would call a fake punt when leading 24-3 in the fourth quarter. Carroll has no regrets.
Asked on 710 ESPN about the decision to run a fake punt in that situation, Carroll said, “you’re either competing or you’re not.’’
Carroll said he’s unsure if Ryan will be able to play next week, but added that the Seahawks won’t necessarily sign a punter if he can’t. Carroll said Russell Wilson can punt if needed, and so can receiver Jermaine Kearse.
“We’ll see,’’ Carroll said. “Of course we’ll just wait it out with Jon but if he can’t play we’ll have to do something and we’ll figure it out. There’s a lot of guys who dropped notes in my suggestion box that they can punt. Guys like Kearse and Russ, they all think they can punt if we need it. We’ll have some guys. We’ll have a punt pass and kick contest this week if we need to.”
If Wilson or Kearse is back there, don’t be surprised if we see another Seahawks fake punt next week. Although Wilson -- unlike Ryan -- would probably slide once he gets the first down.