Seahawks RB Chris Carson still not cleared after neck surgery

Seattle Seahawks running back Chris Carson played in just four games during the 2021 NFL season before he was sidelined with a neck injury that ultimately cost him the remainder of the campaign and forced him to go under the knife. 

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll sparked concern when he confirmed in April that Carson's status was unknown at that time. It appears there remain more questions than answers about the 27-year-old in the final days of spring. 

Via Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk, Carroll told reporters Carson still hasn't been cleared to resume football activities and, thus, was excused from the Seahawks' mandatory minicamp. 

"We’re waiting," Carroll explained about the situation. "There’s a big assessment to be done about two weeks from now. The docs and the surgeons and all that will reconvene and see where he is and let us know. . . . We’ll see what happens here. Just a whole lot of good hope. He’s worked really hard and really wants to come back and all of that, but I can’t tell you for certain at this point in time." 

Carson is in the final active year of his contract, but Seattle may have selected ball-carrier Kenneth Walker III in the second round of this year's draft to serve as a just-in-case replacement. It certainly doesn't sound as if Carson is all that close to taking the field for any club, and his future as an active player undeniably is in question.