Seattle Seahawks defensive end Jadeveon Clowney missed practice again on Thursday, putting his status for Sunday’s wild-card playoff game at Philadelphia in doubt.
Clowney has battled a core-muscle injury for much of the season, missing three games over a five-week span before returning for last Sunday’s regular-season finale against San Francisco. He is expected to have surgery after the season, but has delayed it in hopes of continuing to play.
Head coach Pete Carroll sounded optimistic Monday about Clowney’s availability, then told reporters Wednesday that Clowney was “doing the best he can” to suit up Sunday.
Also absent for the second straight day were left tackle Duane Brown (knee, biceps), left guard Mike Iupati (neck), linebacker Mychal Kendricks (knee) and wideouts Jaron Brown (knee) and Malik Turner (concussion).
Jaron Brown is unlikely to be available after having minor surgery on his meniscus late in the regular season, while Kendricks is out after tearing his ACL in the regular-season finale. It’s unclear if Iupati will be healthy enough to play.
On the positive side, safety Quandre Diggs returned to a full practice for the first time since he was hurt in Week 15 at Carolina. Diggs, who was limited on Wednesday, sounded optimistic about suiting up against the Eagles.
Also returning to practice was center Joey Hunt, who got in a limited session after sitting out Wednesday with a fibula injury. Hunt has been starting since Week 9 after Justin Britt was lost for the season.