Sports · American Football · 21 mins ago
Seahawks’ Quenton Nelson to miss multiple games for knee surgery
Seattle Seahawks guard Quenton Nelson will have knee surgery after aggravating an injury he had before joining the team in a trade from Indianapolis.
The procedure will clean out cartilage, and coach Mike Macdonald says Nelson is week-to-week and will miss multiple games.
Nelson is not being placed on injured reserve, and the team expects to reassess him as he recovers.
Grey Zabel will return to left guard and Anthony Bradford will start at right guard while Nelson is out.
Seattle acquired Nelson for draft picks after moving Zabel to right guard to make room for him.
The Seahawks are making the change to give Nelson time to recover for later in the season, with a bye in Week 11.
His return could matter to Seattle’s playoff chances and to his future, as he is unsigned beyond 2026.
Seahawks left guard Quenton Nelson will miss multiple games after undergoing a minor knee procedure to clean out cartilage.
Coach Mike Macdonald said Nelson aggravated an injury he had before joining Seattle and will be week-to-week.
The Seahawks will not place Nelson on injured reserve.
Seattle will move Grey Zabel back to left guard and start Anthony Bradford at right guard while Nelson is out.
Nelson was acquired from the Indianapolis Colts for a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick.
- Who
- Quenton Nelson, the Seattle Seahawks’ All-Pro left guard.
- What
- He will have a minor knee procedure and miss multiple games.
- When
- The announcement was made Friday, Nov. 6, 2026; Nelson was ruled out for the Week 9 game.
- Where
- Seattle, Washington; the Seahawks play at Lumen Field.
- Why
- He aggravated a knee injury he had been dealing with before joining Seattle.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Nelson was dealing with a knee issue while in Indianapolis, according to Macdonald.
Seattle acquired Nelson from the Indianapolis Colts.
Nelson played every offensive snap in the Seahawks’ loss to the Chicago Bears.
Nelson took part in practice on a limited basis.
Macdonald said Nelson would undergo a minor knee procedure and be week-to-week.
- Procedure
- Knee cartilage cleanout
- Expected absence
- A few weeks
- Injured reserve
- Nelson will not be placed on IR
- Trade compensation
- 2027 third-round pick and 2028 fifth-round pick
- Replacement at left guard
- Grey Zabel
- Replacement at right guard
- Anthony Bradford
3 sources
What people are saying
He had something that he was dealing with when he got here and we re-imaged it and it was aggravated to some degree
We've kinda done the due diligence, and everybody agrees that it's best to take care of it now and play the long game. He'll be week-to-week at this point.
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Another shakeup to the Seahawks’ O-line: Mike Macdonald says LG Quenton Nelson will have a knee procedure. He won’t play Sunday vs. Arizona but they don’t plan to put him on IR. So Grey Zabel will move back to LG for now and Anthony Bradford will return to his old spot at RG.
#Seahawks G Quenton Nelson will have surgery to clean out some cartilage in his knee, sources say, as fragments had been causing an issue recently. The plan is for Nelson to avoid Injured Reserve, and his timeline is a few weeks. Seattle has two games, then a Week 11 bye.
On Nelson, Mike Macdonald said he “had something that he was dealing with when he got here and we re-imaged it and it was aggravated to some degree. We’ve kinda done the due diligence and everybody agrees that it’s best to take care of it now and play the long game.”