Kenneth Walker, 3 other Seahawks officially questionable. Pete Carroll says they will play

All the Seahawks’ questionables aren’t questions to Pete Carroll.

The coach said about an hour after his team listed lead running back Kenneth Walker, top tight end Noah Fant, second wide receiver Marquise Goodwin and backup running back DeeJay Dallas officially questionable that the team expects all of them to play Saturday for Seattle (7-7) at Kansas City (11-3).

Walker missed the Seahawks’ loss last week to San Francisco with an ankle injury. That issue kept the rookie second-round draft choice out of practice Tuesday and Wednesday.

Then Thursday, Walker had back spasms. He did not practice again.

Yet Carroll says Walker is playing against the Chiefs.

“He’s OK,” Carroll said. “I’ve got to wait and see, he had a little...spasms or something today. But he looked good (Wednesday).”

That was in a daily, morning walk-through session before the team’s main practice in the afternoon.

Walker has nine touchdowns rushing in 8 1/2 games since replacing injured Rashaad Penny as Seattle’s lead back. Penny broke his shin bone Oct. 9 in the first half of the team’s loss at New Orleans.

Walker playing Saturday would be a boost to a Seahawks offense that needs to revive its running game to keep the Chiefs’ pass rush from teeing off on Pro Bowl quarterback Geno Smith trying to throw all the time if Walker can’t play.

“He should be ready to go (Saturday) against the Chiefs,” Carroll said.

Same with Fant. Seattle’s number-one tight end did limited work Thursday, his first bit of practicing this week. He’s had a sore knee.

“He should be ready to go. He should be OK,” Carroll said. “We’ve got to get him through, all the way until we get to the stadium, but he’s needed all that time. But he looked good (Wednesday) and that was enough to give us the feeling that he should be OK.”

Goodwin entered this week with a sore wrist. Then he turned his ankle getting “tangled up” with a teammate at practice Wednesday, Carroll said.

The team rested Goodwin on Thursday, before it boarded a chartered jet for Kansas City late in the afternoon. His status becomes more important with Tyler Lockett already out. The Seahawks’ top wide receiver will miss a game because of injury for only the second time in his eight-year career Saturday. He had surgery Monday to repair a spiral fracture in the first metacarpal on his left hand.

Goodwin is in line to be Seattle’s number-two wide receiver behind DK Metcalf in Kansas City. The Seahawks signed former Minnesota first-round pick Laquon Treadwell to the active roster from the practice squad this week to be the third wide out Saturday.

“He should be OK,” Carroll said of Goodwin. “He says he’s playing, that nothing’s going to hold him out.”

Tyler Lockett rejoining team Monday

Carroll said Lockett will rejoin the Seahawks at the team facility in Renton next week, after Christmas. The co-captain has stayed this week in Los Angeles rehabilitating his hand where he had the surgery.

Carroll again used the word “miraculous” to describe what it would be if Lockett returns to play next week when Seattle hosts the New York Jets on New Year’s Day.

Yet Carroll also said, again, the specialist in Los Angeles who did the surgery told the Seahawks he believes Lockett can play after missing only one game, Saturday’s.

DeeJay Dallas returning

The second runner behind Walker hasn’t played since gutting through the end of Seattle’s win over the Los Angeles Rams Dec. 4. He’s had a high-ankle sprain.

But Dallas has gotten back on the practice field for limited work in each of the last two days. Carroll says that work convinced the team he can play against the Chiefs.

“DeeJay did well (Thursday). As a matter of fact, we pulled him out. He had done enough to show us that he can play,” Carroll said.

Ryan Neal out, options to fill-in at safety

Starting strong safety Ryan Neal will miss the Kansas City game with a badly bruised knee on which he played the last two games.

“His knee just didn’t respond this time,” Carroll said. “It’s unfortunate but we have to rest him this week.”

That means more of Teez Tabor and the most yet of Johnathan Abram at safety against the Chiefs.

The Seahawks could use Abram, a former first-round pick by the Raiders that Seattle signed last month, as a base safety and a perhaps in the dime, sixth defensive back role Tabor has done some in the last month. Tabor is more of a traditional cover guy; Carroll noted Seattle’s waiver pickup earlier this season entered the league as a cornerback.

Abram is more suited to play closer to the line of scrimmage inside, as perhaps something more of an extra linebacker.

Tabor could be the option on passing downs against tight end extraordinaire Travis Kelce, though with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs every down is basically a passing down. Abram could be in run support as well as in coverages.

Either way, Abram seems likely to play more than the four snaps on defense he’s played so far for the Seahawks.

Al Woods won’t play

Woods will miss his second consecutive game. The defense’s co-captain injured his Achilles in the first half of Seattle’s home loss to Carolina Dec. 11.

With Bryan Mone on injured reserve needing reconstructive knee surgery, Myles Adams rises in prominence at defensive tackle Saturday. So do Quinton Jefferson and newly added Daviyon Nixon.

The Seahawks signed Nixon as a free agent Wednesday. He was the Big Ten Conference’s defensive player of the year for Iowa before Carolina drafted him in the fifth round last year. He played 18% of the Panthers’ defensive snaps as a rookie. He was playing 13% of their snaps this season before Carolina waived him Dec. 13.

Carroll said Nixon was getting around making plays in practice Wednesday, drawing good-natured, new-guy razzing from his new teammates.