The Pete Carroll Show: Seahawks expect Cowboys’ Dez Bryant to play

Coach Pete Carroll wouldn’t reveal the Seahawks’ plans to defend Dez Bryant, but he did say that Seattle is expecting the Cowboys’ All-Pro wide receiver to play Sunday.

Bryant has missed Dallas’ last five games because of a foot injury he sustained in the season opener. He returned to practice this week and was listed as limited on Wednesday and Thursday.

“Yeah, we think he’s playing. Sounds like he is,” Carroll told KIRO Radio 97.3 FM Friday morning. “That’s good for them and hard on us. He’s a fantastic football player and he’s a very emotional leader on their team, too, so they’ll get a boost from him coming out there.”

The Seahawks have increasingly been moving cornerback Richard Sherman around this season, sometimes having him cover the opponent’s top wide receiver whereas in years past he has mostly stuck to the left side of Seattle’s defense. There’s a good chance the Seahawks do that Sunday if Bryant does indeed play, but Carroll wasn’t going to tip their defensive hand.

“Well, we’ll see,” he said. “We’ll show you come game-time what our thoughts are and how we’ll do that, whether we do or not. I know that you’d love to know that, but I’m not revealing it right now.”