The Seattle Seahawks are thriving as of late but hit a major setback as tight end Jimmy Graham tore his patellar tendon in his right knee during their 39–30 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday.
Graham suffered the injury in the fourth quarter after failing to catch a pass from quarterback Russell Wilson.
Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said following the win that Graham will have to undergo surgery to repair the injury.
"We're going to miss the heck out of him the rest of the season. He's been a fantastic addition," Carroll said, according to ESPN.
Before leaving the game, the 29-year-old, who was acquired via a trade deal in the offseason, had four receptions for 75 yards.
Graham was added by the Seahawks to boost their offense, but so far, he has yet to match the production he had in the past when he was still playing for the New Orleans Saints.
In 11 regular season games played this 2015, his first year with Seattle, Graham only has 48 receptions for 605 yards and two touchdowns.
Following the injury, the Seahawks placed the three-time Pro Bowler on the injured reserve which officially ended his 2015 season, a report on the Seahawks website stated.
According also to the report, Carroll is optimistic that Graham will be ready in 2016 and said, "Absolutely, yes. I don't know about the dates of that, but there's plenty of time for him to get back."
In Graham's absence, likely to step up are Luke Wilson and Cooper Helfet, who are second and third in Seattle's depth chart at the tight end position.
After a 2–4 start, Seattle won four of its last five games to improve to 6–5 and secure the second spot in the National Football Conference (NFC) West.
Up next for the Seahawks this Sunday will be a matchup with the Minnesota Vikings who are leading the NFC North with an 8–3 record.
