Michael Bennett Injury: Updates on Seahawks Star's Recovery from Knee Surgery

Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett had not played since undergoing surgery for a knee injury he suffered against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 6.

However, he has been cleared to return.

Continue for updates.

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Bennett Active vs. Panthers

Sunday, Dec. 4

The Seahawks announced Bennett will be active for Sunday's game against the Carolina Panthers.

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Latest on Bennett's Practice Status 

Friday, Dec. 2

The Seahawks announced Bennett was limited in practice for the second straight day Friday.

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Carroll Comments on Bennett's Potential Return

Friday, Nov. 18

Head coach Pete Carroll said Bennett was on the treadmill Nov. 18 and "feels great," adding that Bennett would like to come back for Week 12, per James Palmer of NFL Network.

"Bennett [is] probably still a couple of weeks away from returning," Carroll said Nov. 14, according to Stephen Cohen of SeattlePI.com.

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Bennett Undergoes Surgery

Wednesday, Nov. 2

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported Bennett underwent successful surgery, and the timeline for his return remains two to three weeks.

On Monday, Carroll noted the reported two- to three-week recovery timeline was an optimistic one, according to John Boyle of the team's official website.

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Seahawks Need Bennett Healthy for Super Bowl Push

Bennett suffered the injury in Week 6, but he played 81 snaps during the team's 6-6 tie against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 7. He spoke to the Seattle Times' Bob Condotta about that game Oct. 27:

Bennett has never put up huge sack totals—his single-season high is the 10 he recorded last season—but his ability to move inside and out on the line has made him a staple of Carroll's defense. 

The 31-year-old had his best season in 2015, with Pro Football Focus giving him the second-highest run-defense grade among edge-rushers.

Pro Football Focus also noted Bennett's sack totals can be misleading because only J.J. Watt gets at the quarterback more often than Seattle's star defender (via Derek Lewis of 247Sports):

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By official NFL statistics, Bennett has tallied 34.5 sacks over the last four seasons. That’s 16th-most in the league over that span. In terms of pressures, though, Bennett has 292 in the same time frame. Only J.J. Watt was better. (That’s pretty good company.) Bennett is also far from a one-trick pony. He’s had a top-10 run-stop percentage among 4-3 defensive ends each of the past three years, as well.

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Before the injury, Bennett recorded three sacks and 24 total tackles within a Seattle defense that had allowed the second-fewest yards in the NFL.

When healthy, this defense is in a unique position because its success isn't entirely predicated on sacks. Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor form one of the best secondary trios in the NFL and cause problems for opposing wide receivers, so just getting pressure from the defensive front is enough. 

Given the way he can get after the opposing quarterback and defend the run, a prolonged absence for Seattle's best defensive lineman would have drastically altered the dynamic.