Seahawks’ Curt Warner Is Confident

After passing a minicamp test in May, Seattle Seahawks running back Curt Warner has no fears about reinjuring the right knee he tore up last season.

Warner, who rushed for 1,449 yards and 13 touchdowns as a rookie in 1983, was expected to burn up the field in 1984. Instead, during the first game of the season he tore a ligament in his right knee while making a cut and didn’t play another down.

After the injury came 12 weeks in a cast, followed by weight work and long hours of running to strengthen the knee. The Seahawks were cautiously optimistic, but the real test came when he tried the risky move again.

That big trial in May produced smiles all around. Warner made the move without a hitch or hint of pain.

“He didn’t look tentative,” Seattle Coach Chuck Knox said. “He made Curt Warner moves.”

Now, Warner is convinced he stands on solid ground as training camp opened this weekend.

“With the progress I’ve made, there’s no reason I can’t be where I was when I got hurt,” Warner said.

Seahawks General Manager Mike McCormick said the Seahawks are trying to contain their enthusiasm.

“We’re very optimistic,” he said. “We’re trying to be guardedly optimistic, but we’ve gotten nothing but good reports from doctors, trainers and everybody around him. He’s so optimistic, it’s tough for us to be only guardedly optimistic.

“His leg is measurably stronger than before it was injured.”

With Warner out for the 1984 season, there was no pressure to rehabilitate the knee in a hurry, McCormick said.

“The approach was very conservative,” he said. “We had time on our side because he was injured so early in the season.

“He spent 12 weeks in a cast, then didn’t put any weight on the leg for another eight weeks. All the bending and motion work he did in a swimming pool. From mid-December to the first of February, he lifted weights to get leg strength back. Since then, it’s been a matter of running distances and sprints.”

Warner said he isn’t worried about injuring the knee again.

“I can’t go around thinking, ‘Am I going to go the same thing again?’ ” he said. “That defeats the whole purpose of what I’m doing. If they call the play, I’m going to run it. I’m going to make the same cut.”

The Seahawks made Iowa running back Owen Gill their first selection in this year’s NFL draft, fueling speculation that Warner would not--or could not--be ready to play this season.

The Seahawks envision Gill as a fullback and a nice backfield mate for Warner, McCormick said.

“Chuck has penciled Owen is as a fullback, as a running mate to Curt,” McCormick said.”

The Seahawks also lost Warner’s backup, Zachary Dixon, twice to knee injuries last year. And despite the team’s 12-4 record, the Seahawks were 28th in the league in rushing with an average of 3.3 yards per carry.

Warner and Gill will give the Seahawks a blazing backfield, McCormick predicted.

“After Curt and Zach went down last year, our opponents didn’t respect our outside speed,” he said. “Owen gives us that. He’s a fullback who runs like a halfback.”