Seahawks' defensive end Darrell Taylor is inactive for Monday Night Football against the New Orleans Saints in Seattle. He was listed as questionable, but coach Pete Carroll said Saturday he'd be surprised if Taylor didn't play. Carroll reiterated that Taylor has nothing more than a stiff neck after his scary incident last week in Pittsburgh, where he was stretchered off the field with his face mask removed and his neck immobilized.
On his 710 ESPN Seattle pregame radio hit, Seahawks general manager John Schneider said Taylor is "coming along well" and that the team is being smart by deactivating him.
"No structural damage, which is great," Schneider said. "But still sore and just didn't quite feel like he could let it rip."
Taylor has been the Seahawks' most productive pass-rusher this season with a team-high four sacks. No other player has more than one.
Left guard Damien Lewis, who was also listed as questionable, is inactive. Seattle's other inactives: quarterback Jacob Eason, cornerback John Reid, defensive end L.J. Collier and tackle Stone Forsythe. Collier, the 29th overall pick in 2019, has now been a healthy scratch in five of seven games this season.
Schneider said rookie receiver Dee Eskridge, the Seahawks' second-round pick, made a second trip last week to see a concussion expert in Florida. He hasn't played since suffering what Schneider called "a really rough concussion" in the opener. Schneider said Eskridge had a good week in Florida, but it's too soon to know if he'll be available for Sunday's game against Jacksonville.
"We've really missed him, quite honestly," Schneider said. "You guys have seen him out there. Once he's going, he's an explosive, explosive player. ... We're missing him right now in our offense."