Seahawks running back Chris Carson out for the season with neck injury

For the third time in his five years with the Seattle Seahawks, Chris Carson’s season is over early due to injury.

Pete Carroll confirmed at Friday’s press conference that Carson will undergo surgery for his lingering neck injury and thus won’t be activated off of injured reserve. He won’t be back until 2022.

Carson is clearly Seattle’s best running back and provides an element of physicality that no one else on the Seahawks’ depth chart has consistently matched since Marshawn Lynch’s departure. Unfortunately, injuries have plagued him throughout his career. As a rookie he broke his ankle in Week 4, he missed two games due to injury in 2018, and while he almost played a full season in 2019, a cracked hip in Week 16 sent him to IR. Last year he missed four games with a foot injury, and now this year he’s got a neck injury.

Alex Collins will presumably remain the team’s starting running back, which has been the case ever since Week 5 against the Los Angeles Rams. Rashaad Penny, Travis Homer, Deejay Dallas, and Josh Johnson (practice squad) are the other options.