Seattle Seahawks

Question facing Seahawks: Can Rawls carry load for the long haul?

Published Nov. 25, 2015 3:12 p.m. ET

foxsports

Thomas Rawls has shown he can thrive as an injury replacement for running back Marshawn Lynch.

The question is whether Rawls can hold up over the long haul with Lynch likely to miss most if not all of the rest of the regular season after undergoing surgery Wednesday morning to repair a sports hernia.

RB Thomas #Rawls becomes 1st undrafted player to run for 160+ yds twice in their rookie season. #SFvsSEA pic.twitter.com/l6D8h4J3Bd
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) November 23, 2015

Rawls has made three starts and was spectacular in the latter two while filling in for Lynch, rushing for 169 yards and a touchdown in Week 6 versus Cincinnati and steamrolling the San Francisco 49ers for 209 yards on 30 carries while scoring twice last weekend.

The 5-foot-9, 215-pound Rawls has a punishing running style similar to Lynch, routinely seeking out contact. Seattle coach Pete Carroll told reporters that Rawls "makes somebody miss to find somebody to hit."

Consider, though, Rawls already dealt with a calf issue earlier this season and has only one full year as a featured running back in college, rushing for 1,103 yards and 10 touchdowns as a senior at Central Michigan after transferring from Michigan.

Even at that, Rawls missed two games last year at Central Michigan due to a legal issue and sat out most of three games later in the season with a knee injury. Between those layoffs, Rawls was a monster during a scintillating three-game stretch, amassing 666 yards and five TDs on 112 rushes, including back-to-back 40-carry outings.

Seahawks backup Fred Jackson has not carried the ball more than four times in a game this season, one reason why the team re-signed former Bills and Eagles running back Bryce Brown to the 53-man roster Tuesday. Seattle also signed ex-Green Bay running back DuJuan Harris to the practice squad.