What It Means:

This confirms what head coach Pete Carroll said on Monday about the Seahawks still not wanting to rush Rawls back from an ankle injury, as well as that "it's still time to take care of him." Carroll did state that "in the next couple weeks," Rawls will be ready to start. However, this is an opportunity for Michael to take over the job after putting together such a stellar preseason. He has a juicy matchup in Week 1 against the thin defense of the Miami Dolphins.

Our projections for Week 1 still currently favor Rawls, forecasting eight carries for 40 yards and 0.37 touchdowns, while projecting two carries for 7.41 yards and 0.08 touchdowns for Michael.