Seattle Seahawks guard Quenton Nelson will miss Sunday’s contest against the Arizona Cardinals with a knee injury that will require surgery.
Nelson, an eight-time Pro Bowl selection, was acquired by Seattle in a trade with the Indianapolis Colts on Oct. 27. He was bothered by the injury prior to the deal and aggravated it after joining the Seahawks.
Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said Nelson won’t need to go on injured reserve.
“We’re going to do a minor procedure. He’s week-to-week at this point,” Macdonald told reporters on Friday. “We’re not going to put him on IR, so we’ll go from there. But there’s a timeline right now that warrants not IR, so that’s what we’re going to do.”
Macdonald said that Nelson passed his physical as a condition of the trade. He said that internal discussions this week led to the team’s decision to have Nelson undergo the procedure now.
According to reports, Nelson is dealing with a cartilage issue.
“We’ve kind of done the due diligence, and everybody agrees that it’s best to take care of it now and play the long game,” Macdonald said. “So he’ll be week-to-week at this point.”
Nelson, 30, played every offensive snap in his Seattle debut on Monday in a 34-17 loss to the Chicago Bears.
Seattle sent a third-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft and a fifth-round selection in 2028 to the Colts for Nelson, who is in the final season of a four-year, $80 million contract.
A first-team All-Pro in each of his first three seasons, Nelson has started all 137 games in which he has played since being selected by the Colts with the sixth overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft out of Notre Dame.
Seattle will also be without left tackle Charles Cross (ankle) against Arizona. Quarterback Sam Darnold (quadriceps, ribs), receiver Rashid Shaheed (knee), defensive tackle Leonard Williams (stinger), nose tackle Brandon Pili (back) and outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu (ankle) will also miss the game.
