Pete Carroll says Russell Wilson has ‘badly sprained’ finger, won’t schedule for quarterback return

Russell Wilson has never missed a game in his NFL career, although his streak of 149 straight starts can be compromised. Wilson, who left the Seattle Seahawks’ 26-17 loss to the Los Angeles Rams Thursday night in the fourth quarter, was diagnosed with a “badly sprained” finger, according to head coach Pete Carroll.

Wilson was clearly in pain after slapping his throwing hand against Rams All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald in a third quarter failure. The Seahawks quarterback stayed in the game for one more streak, throwing just one more pass before leaving the contest.

Carroll said in his post-game press conference that there was no timeline for Wilson’s return, but the Seahawks quarterback had 10 days until Seattle’s next game. If Wilson starts, it will be his 150th straight start for the quarterback – becoming only the sixth quarterback in NFL history to start as many consecutive games.

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“He hasn’t been able to keep football the way he needed it,” Carroll said. “We were going to throw the ball and we were going to throw the ball all over the place. We didn’t know what he would do and I trust him. If he could have (come back), he would have.”

Carroll reiterated that Wilson’s finger was sore, but it was healing quickly. Wilson hasn’t missed a game since being named the Seahawks’ starting quarterback at the start of the 2012 season (his rookie year).

Geno Smith relieved Wilson in the fourth quarter, leading the Seahawks on a touchdown in his first set and a field goal on his second set to keep Seattle in the game. Smith finished 10 of 17 for 131 yards in his shift, with a touchdown and an interception, which came on a pass attempt to Tyler Lockett with just over two minutes left and Seattle trailing six points.

Regardless of the outcome of the game and Wilson’s status for next week, the Seahawks are confident they will give Smith the opportunity to start.

“When he got in there he did really well. He looked really good,” Carroll said. “He’s a talented football player. He knows our system. If Geno is going to play for us, he has shown we are in good hands.”