The Sports Xchange

RENTON, Wash. — The Seattle Seahawks have a key early-season matchup with the Green Bay Packers this week, but the focus remains on the one player who will not be in uniform Sunday night.

The Seahawks began their preparations for the Packers on Wednesday with strong safety Kam Chancellor still absent from the team. Chancellor missed the entire preseason and the first week of the regular season as he continues a holdout in hopes of leveraging a new contract from the team. The Seahawks have been unwilling to acquiesce, despite their 34-31 overtime to the St. Louis Rams in the season opener last Sunday.

“I’m just disappointed like I know he is and everybody is that it hasn’t found a way to get him here,” coach Pete Carroll said. “I think our guys have dealt with everything that has come at us in a really straight-up fashion and they’re really focused on playing football and doing the best we can. We can’t coach the guy that’s not here. Can’t do anything about it.”

Carroll made it clear that if Chancellor is not with the team for the start of the practice week, he will not be suiting up with the team on Sundays. It’s not a particularly surprising notion considering Chancellor hasn’t done any football work since minicamp in June.

Nevertheless, that effectively rules Chancellor out of playing this week in a critical matchup against the Packers. Dion Bailey will once again start in his place.

“Really nothing has changed,” Carroll said as to the current status of discussions with Chancellor. “It has really never been a negotiation, just conversations.”

Asked what could change the situation, Carroll said, “He needs to come back in. That’s it. We need to get him in.”

Meanwhile, the Seahawks need to get a win to avoid an 0-2 start to the season and will have to do it on the road against one of the most prolific offenses in the league.

Seattle allowed eight pass plays of at least 20 yards to the Rams last week, the most allowed by any team in the league in Week 1.

“It was a few communication errors,” cornerback Richard Sherman said. “One was a personnel where we didn’t know that they had (four receivers and one running back) on the field and we were in base (defense). It’s things like that that are easily corrected. They were honest mistakes.”

–Sherman predominantly plays only on the left side, essentially a border corner. It is rare for the Seahawks All-Pro to follow a certain receiver around the field or move inside to the slot. He did it at times in the team’s home opener in 2013 against the San Francisco 49ers’ Anquan Boldin. An injury to Byron Maxwell necessitated it last year against Dez Bryant and the Dallas Cowboys. However, Sherman played significantly more inside last week against the St. Louis Rams.

Sherman moved to the slot in nickel situations with DeShawn Shead replacing him at left cornerback.

“Putting Richard inside, it allows him to use all of the savvy and the instincts that he has,” Carroll said. “He’s a marvelous player in terms of awareness and vision and anticipation and all of that. … He likes it. There’s a lot going on. There’s a lot to learn for him in there as well, and we’re going to use it as it fits.”

Sherman said he received a text from the coaching staff last Monday night asking him to learn the spot for the week. Sherman then spent a sizable portion of his 59 defensive snaps lining up inside.

NOTES: Linebacker Mike Morgan (hamstring) was ruled out for this week’s game. … Cornerback Tharold Simon injured his toe in practice Friday and was inactive for last week’s game in St. Louis. Simon did not practice Wednesday but was expected to return to the practice fields Thursday. … Running back Marshawn Lynch did not practice with the team Wednesday. It is a routine day off for the veteran running back and not injury-related. … Among those limited in Wednesday’s practice were linebacker Bobby Wagner (ankle), defensive end Michael Bennett (ankle) and fullback Will Tukuafu (foot). … Linebacker Nick Moody signed with the Seahawks’ practice squad Saturday, and defensive back Brandon Dixon was released. Moody played the last two years with the San Francisco 49ers.