Injuries piling up at Seattle Seahawks' training camp

RENTON, Wash. -- More than a dozen players were sidelined for the Seattle Seahawks' practice Thursday.

And that was before two more players went down with apparent Achilles tendon injuries during practice.

Fullback/tight end Brandon Cottom was the first to go down in a non-contact situation during one-on-one receiving drills.

"It's one of those things where, on air, foot in the ground and bam," coach Pete Carroll said.

As the team brought a cart onto the field to attend to Cottom, tight end Ronnie Shields fell to the turf about 20 yards away. Shields had to be helped to the sideline by a trainer and teammate Jimmy Graham before the cart could return to carry him away.

Cottom's injury appeared to be to his left leg while Shields grabbed at his right ankle. Cottom was competing for Seattle's fullback job.

None of the injuries to other players seem to be particularly serious, but it still made for a sizable group watching practice rather than taking part.

"We're getting some soft tissue stuff that's starting to pop up that obviously we're disappointed with," Carroll said.

Among players sidelined Thursday were wide receiver Doug Baldwin (leg), safety Kam Chancellor (groin), running back Zac Brooks (hamstring) and defensive end Frank Clark (calf).

--Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman has always been bullish on the potential of 2013 draft pick Tharold Simon.

Multiple injuries have kept Simon, a cornerback, from truly making a mark through three seasons with Seattle. Genetic issues with his feet have led to surgeries that have wiped out the better part of two whole seasons for Simon. But despite all the setbacks, Sherman continues to believe that Simon has enormous potential.

"He's an incredible athlete. He's going to be a great ball player. I continue to stand by what I've always said, he's going to be better than me by the time it's all said and done," Sherman said. "The kid's a player, he just needs to put it all together and hopefully he can stay healthy and it'll be a fantastic year for him."

Simon missed his entire rookie season with Seattle after a toe injury on his foot lingered throughout the season and ultimately required surgery. Simon had a toe that would keep dislocating and wouldn't fully heal despite treatment and rest. The same issue surfaced on the other foot last season and limited him to only one game before another surgery was necessary to correct the issue.

"It's been tough to watch," Sherman said. "Me and him spend a lot of time together and I invest a lot of time kind of teaching him, helping him learn. The kid works hard and it's just unfortunate. You get things like dislocated toes, that's not from lack of working out or training hard, that's genetic. That's just your feet doing what they do and being messed up. So hopefully everything comes together like it's supposed to and it'll be good."

Simon has appeared in only 11 games in three seasons with 13 tackles and one interception.

--Defensive end Michael Bennett was held out of the end of practice Thursday by coach Pete Carroll after repeated incidents with the offensive line.

Bennett has been getting irked by various linemen throughout the first five days of training camp. He's been involved in scuffles with first-round pick Germain Ifefi and others as the intensity has ramped up with players now in pads.

"I see it as passion. This is the passion coming out," Carroll said. "They want to play this game, they are excited about what is coming up and they want to get ready and be really at their best so we are finding that, you're seeing it, it is translating and sometimes we lose a little bit of the poise that we need. We can't play like that. You get in the scrimmage you get thrown out, that's what happens, you know, that happened today. That's just the way you do it, the way we do it."

But Bennett's fire apparently went a bit too far Thursday as Carroll kept Bennett on the sideline when the first-team defense returned to the field after another incident between the two sides of the football. After Bennett jumped offsides during a team session, Bennett began yelling at members of the offensive line and got into a shoving match as well. When it mostly settled down, Bennett was still angered and continued yelling at the offense.

At the conclusion of practice, a seemingly still irritated Bennett was ushered to the locker room by teammate Cliff Avril.