RENTON — As if there were not enough on Luke Willson’s plate this week, the Seattle Seahawks tight end is also practicing his long snapping as a potential emergency option.
It’s just one more thing the Seahawks need to address with Zach Miller — Seattle’s starting tight end and backup long snapper — out for a few weeks following ankle surgery.
“Probably not the greatest, but we’ll get better. It’s been a while,” Willson said of his snapping ability.
Willson’s role becomes exponentially more important starting this week with the Seahawks preparing to travel to Washington for a Monday night game. Miller will miss at least the next two games and potentially more after undergoing surgery during the Seahawks’ bye last week.
Before he went home to Ontario, Canada, to spend time with his family, Willson had an idea that Miller was going to choose surgery to relieve the discomfort in his ankle.
“I know he was struggling in the Denver game a bit and just talking with him, it sounded pretty painful,” Willson said. “I think he played 71 snaps on that ankle, which little things like that gets kind of overlooked. That’s pretty remarkable. He was fighting. He’ll be back this year and I have to hold down the fort until he comes back.”
This will not be the first time Willson’s been called upon to be a starter.
Willson filled in for two weeks last season as a rookie when Miller was out with injuries, and he said stepping into the role again is familiar now.
“When you’re the backup guy, you kind of always want to prepare for it,” Willson said. “I’ve been here practicing and we rotate so it’s one of those things where I don’t really feel like I’m entering new territory.”
