Seahawks’ Thomas Rawls says he’ll resume running soon

Seahawks running back Thomas Rawls provided a bit of an update Thursday on his recovery from the ankle injury that ended his rookie season, saying he is now walking without crutches and that he’ll resume running soon.

Rawls was a guest speaker at the 2016 Seattle Seahawks Friends of Scouting Luncheon in Seattle. The Seahawks tweeted a picture of Rawls on stage.

Rawls led the NFL with a 5.6 yards-per-carry average and was on pace to top 1,000 yards rushing as a rookie last season when he went down on Dec. 13, fracturing his ankle and also sustaining some ligament damage. He said after Seattle’s playoff loss that he expects to be ready for the start of next season. Coach Pete Carroll has expressed the same optimism.

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The update Rawls gave Thursday doesn’t indicate anything definitive about his status for the start of next season, but it does suggest that he’s on track considering training camp is still four months away.

That would be significant considering the degree to which the Seahawks figure to be counting on Rawls now that Marshawn Lynch has retired. Christine Michael is also in the mix after signing a one-year deal to return, as is CFL product Cameron Marshall. The Seahawks can and likely will add to that group in the draft and/or rookie free agency.