Seattle news roundup: the Seahawks’ injury report ahead of their road game against the Raiders, two rain- and wind-bearing storms in western Washington, and the City Council’s failed attempt to override the mayor’s veto of an RV parking permit program.
Seahawks ahead of Raiders game: What the injury report really says
Injuries are the part of sports where “limited” in the report can mean far more than a whole page of text. That’s exactly the case with the Seattle Seahawks’ Thursday report for Week 10. On the surface, it’s a routine list of a dozen names, but behind it are two key storylines: left tackle Charles Cross’s return and preparations for a game that Drew Lock appears likely to start at quarterback. The full report is available on the team’s website.
The biggest news of the day is Charles Cross. The left tackle, who has missed two games with an ankle injury, did not practice at all on Wednesday, then returned to the field in a limited capacity on Thursday for the first time since the injury. “Limited” status alone doesn’t guarantee that he’ll play, but the shift from “did not practice” to “limited” is a classic sign of progress toward a return: if he maintains that status or improves on Friday, playing on Sunday becomes a real possibility. For an offensive line already under pressure, this is arguably the week’s most important development.
The second storyline is Drew Lock. The quarterback was limited in practice again, and, as the report explicitly states, that’s part of the plan: the team is preparing him to start despite elbow and oblique injuries. The phrase “as has been the plan” is important here—it dispels the question of whether the limitation signals a setback. The team is managing his workload deliberately, rather than reacting to warning signs. Meanwhile, Sam Darnold, the other quarterback on the roster, has not practiced for a second straight day and has officially been ruled out for Week 10 by Mike Macdonald, along with left guard Quenton Nelson. The head coach is therefore taking some questions off the table in advance, leaving the uncertainty centered on Lock and Cross.
There’s good news, too. Tight end A.J. Barner, who practiced fully on Wednesday despite a finger injury, has disappeared from the report altogether—the best status possible. After getting Wednesday off, Jaxon Smith-Njigba practiced fully on Thursday, which is more routine than noteworthy for him. Wide receiver Rashid Shaheed, returning from a knee injury that kept him out for two games, has practiced fully for a second straight day. This may be the most overlooked item in the report: a fully healthy Shaheed significantly expands the passing offense’s options.
The outlook is less encouraging on defense. Defensive tackle Leonard Williams has not practiced for a second straight day because of a stinger—that is, burning or tingling in the arm caused by a pinched nerve in the neck or shoulder area. Since stingers can recur and require a cautious recovery, his availability on Sunday is in doubt. Edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu, recovering from an ankle injury, has been limited for a second consecutive day, with no progress in either direction so far. That kind of stagnation usually means the decision will come at the last minute, based on how he responds to Friday’s workload.
Taken as a whole, the picture suggests the team’s strategy: write off the clearly lost positions—Darnold and Nelson are already out—and focus on getting back the players who could strengthen the team against the Raiders. The key checkpoints are Friday’s practice and the official statuses of Cross, Lock and Williams. For Seattle, the offensive line and the depth of the defense will shape this game, if not determine the result outright. Despite its routine appearance, Thursday’s report offered the first sign all week that Cross really is close to returning and that the plan for Lock is proceeding exactly as intended.
Calm before the storm: Seattle braces for a rainy weekend with two storms
Residents of western Washington have had a brief reprieve before the region comes under the influence of active storm systems again. According to FOX 13 Seattle’s weather service, two frontal systems will move through the Pacific Northwest in the coming days, bringing rain, wind and a risk of flooding.
A relatively mild air mass is currently in place over the region. A front stalled along the coast is keeping temperatures in the 60s Fahrenheit (about 15–19 degrees Celsius)—nearly 10 degrees above the seasonal average for this time of year. Around Puget Sound, the forecast calls for dry weather with variable cloud cover, while light rain is possible along the coast and on the Olympic Peninsula. Friday night will also be dry and mild.
The first system will begin to affect the region on Friday, as the front moves inland. Rain will spread across western Washington, accompanied by gusty winds. The strongest gusts are expected along the Pacific coast and through gaps in the Cascade Range, where airflow accelerates. Showers will reach Puget Sound by midday Friday.
Friday brings two specific risks. First, the combination of high tides and low atmospheric pressure could cause minor coastal flooding along the shores of the Salish Sea, especially during the morning high tide. Water levels could rise enough to cause localized flooding. Second, rainfall is forecast to push the Skokomish River above flood stage. The rain is not expected to be extreme, but it should be enough to bring the river to minor flood stage—a familiar occurrence in an area prone to regular flooding.
The main test, however, will come Saturday evening and overnight into Sunday. A stronger storm system will bring widespread winds across western Washington, with the strongest gusts again expected along the coast. Heavy rain will arrive at the same time: 1.5 to 2 inches (about 38–50 mm) are forecast along the Washington coast, and 3 to 4 inches (76–100 mm) in the Olympic Mountains. Those amounts are certain to raise fresh concerns about river levels and renewed flooding, especially in low-lying areas already saturated by Friday’s front.
Showers will continue overnight into Sunday and on Monday, gradually easing. By Tuesday and Wednesday, conditions will turn drier and cooler, bringing the region back to more typical seasonal temperatures.
FOX 13 Seattle chief meteorologist Brian MacMillan and his team emphasize that the forecast is based on a range of weather models, so it may be updated as the fronts draw closer.
A few key points to keep in mind: First, temperatures nearly 10 degrees above normal are a direct result of the front stalled along the coast, which is keeping warm air over the region. Second, Saturday’s storm will be considerably stronger than Friday’s, and it poses the greatest risks from both wind and rain. Third, the combination of tides, low pressure and river runoff creates a complex flood threat that will intensify toward the end of the week. Residents in coastal and riverside areas should monitor forecast updates and be ready for possible alerts.
Seattle Council fails to override mayor’s veto of RV parking program
The Seattle City Council failed to override Mayor Katie Wilson’s veto of a bill that would have created a permit program for people living in RVs and trailers. Six votes were needed to override the veto, but the measure received only five, leaving the mayor’s veto in place. The episode illustrates the challenge of balancing compassion for people experiencing homelessness with the practical limits of urban infrastructure in one of the most liberal cities in the United States.
The dispute goes beyond a simple procedural vote. Both sides—the council and the mayor—agree that something must be done about homelessness, but they differ over how. The council proposed a fairly detailed scheme: people living in RVs would have to prove ownership of their vehicle, stay in contact with social services and follow rules on trash and noise. In return, they could park overnight in designated industrial zones, but would have to move every 72 hours. Violators could lose their permits. At other times, RVs would be allowed on city streets for no more than two hours, while overnight parking elsewhere in the city would be banned outright, with vehicles subject to towing without warning.
Mayor Wilson, however, considered the plan too complicated and costly to implement—and, more importantly, questioned whether it would actually reduce homelessness. In her view, creating such a bureaucratic system could increase, rather than reduce, the number of people living on the street, because of its excessive requirements and costs. She cited concerns that the program would be ineffective and create additional problems for the city, KOMO News reported. Notably, even a City Council traditionally supportive of social programs could not muster enough votes to override the veto—a sign that the proposal raised questions for some lawmakers as well.
A few points help put the issue in context. The Seattle mayor’s veto is the power to reject legislation passed by the council; overriding it requires a supermajority—six of the nine votes in this case. The proposed permit program was not simply about legalizing parking. It would have established a regulated system with elements of social services: people living in RVs would have to prove that they owned their vehicles and work with service providers. American cities often use this model to distinguish people experiencing homelessness in good faith from those using RVs for other purposes, but it can also create barriers for the most vulnerable.
The key point is that the dispute is not about whether the problem exists, but about the cost and complexity of addressing it. The council advocated a regulated compromise: give people a place to live in exchange for following the rules. The mayor argued that such a compromise would be expensive in practice and fail to deliver results. The five votes to override the veto mean that at least some councilmembers supported the mayor or abstained—a significant political signal that even in progressive Seattle, approaches to homelessness are becoming more pragmatic.
The decision has two kinds of consequences. On the one hand, the status quo remains: people living in RVs are left in a legal gray area, and the city has no tool to regulate their parking. On the other, the mayor now has the opportunity to propose an alternative she considers more effective, although she has not yet announced a specific plan. For RV residents, this means continued uncertainty: without the program, they still risk towing and fines, but without the council’s strict restrictions, they also retain more freedom. The episode shows how difficult it is to balance humanitarian obligations with the need to manage a city—and how divided the council itself is on the issue.
