Pete Carroll gives 3-4 week timeline on Jaxon Smith-Njigba wrist fracture

Seattle Seahawks rookie wideout and 2023 first round draft pick Jaxon Smith-Njigba underwent wrist surgery early this week after suffering an injury in a preseason game over the weekend. However, head coach Pete Carroll had a fairly promising prognosis for Smith-Njigba to return in short order.

Smith-Njigba should be back in a month or less, Carroll said on Tuesday. With the NFL opening Sunday on Sept. 10, Smith-Njigba will only miss a handful of games before he likely makes his NFL debut.

“Pete Carroll said [Smith-Njigba] had a slight fracture and they want to make sure to do things right. 3-4 week issue and they’re staying optimistic about his timetable,” Curtis Crabtree of Fox 13 Seattle reported.

Smith-Njigba reportedly fractured a bone in his wrist against the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday. He had hauled in three passes for 58 yards prior to being sidelined with the injury.

The Seahawks were initially hopeful their rookie offensive weapon could be back in time for the season opener, but now it seems they’ll reincorporate Smith-Njigba mid-stream. The Seahawks conclude the preseason against the Green Bay Packers on Aug. 26 before opening the season by hosting the Los Angeles Rams on Sept. 10.

Seattle will travel to Detroit, host the Carolina Panthers and then play on the road against the New York Giants before a week off ahead of an Oct. 15 showdown with the Cincinnati Bengals. The current timeline of around a month or less would have Smith-Njigba back well before mid-October, but the bye week provides a good window for the rookie to get up to speed.

The Seahawks selected Smith-Njigba out of Ohio State with the No. 20 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. He’s expected to immediately be the Seahawks slot receiver and serve as a No. 3 passing option behind DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett.

That will still likely be the plan for the Seahawks, but it will just have to get rolling a few weeks later than anticipated.

When he’s healthy, Smith-Njigba looks the part of an NFL wideout

He might be sidelined for now, but Smith-Njigba has impressed when he has been on the field this summer.

That includes last month during training camp when the former Buckeye hauled in an impressive one-handed touchdown grab in practice.

JSN WITH AN UNREAL ONE-HAND GRAB 🤯 pic.twitter.com/IhPjbRX89p

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) July 27, 2023

Quarterback Geno Smith is already a big fan. It could be a great one-two punch with DK Metcalf and Smith-Njigba.

“He’s so impressive,” Smith said, via ESPN. “Very smooth route-runner. Natural hands. Also, the game is not too big for him. You can see he’s got that self-confidence that you look for.”