Russell Wilson felt great playing without knee brace

RENTON, Wash. -- Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson played without a brace on his knee last Saturday against the Detroit Lions for the first time since suffering a sprained MCL in his left knee in a September game against the San Francisco 49ers.

"It felt great," Wilson said of the decision to lose the knee brace last week. "Like I've been saying to you guys, I've been practicing the past five or six weeks without it, so my legs have been feeling really good. I just wanted to be smart, get to the playoffs and have a chance to hopefully go try to win it all. My legs felt great and my legs feel good right now. Feeling fast and all that."

Wilson started every game for Seattle this season despite numerous injuries significantly limiting his mobility. The knee injury came two weeks after a high-ankle sprain sustained against Miami in the Seahawks' regular-season opener.

He used the brace for the final 12 weeks of the regular season. He eventually transitioned from a heavier brace to a smaller one as stability in his knee improved throughout the year.

"It was a pretty light brace, but at the same time you can't get your full range of motion," Wilson said. "It kind of impedes your stride a little bit. It's nice to have it off."

Wilson still doesn't look to be at 100 percent when it comes to his running ability. He's not as capable of avoiding defenders as he's been in previous seasons. However, Wilson showed he can still move pretty well at times when he sprinted downfield to make a block for Thomas Rawls on a 32-yard run during the third quarter of Seattle's 26-6 win over Detroit.

"I'm not going to say he's 100 percent," Bevell said. "No one is ever 100 percent this time of year but we're comfortable with everything he needs to do.