Report: Former MSU star Malik McDowell could miss rookie season for Seattle Seahawks

Malik McDowell’s rookie season might be over before it even begins.

Seattle coach Pete Carroll told reporters Monday the former Michigan State and Southfield High star is not expected to begin the season as an active player for the Seahawks after suffering injuries in an all-terrain vehicle crash.

“He had a serious accident," Carroll said. "He had multiple injuries, had the injury to his head. It’s going to be quite a while, and we are just going to have to wait it out.”

The (Tacoma) News Tribune in Washington reported McDowell likely will not play in 2017 and added the Seahawks allowed the defensive lineman to return to his home in Detroit this week. He is on the Seahawks’ roster as a non-football injury designee.

McDowell reportedly was injured in an ATV accident last month in Michigan. NFL Network reported the second-round pick had suffered a concussion and facial injuries. He wrote on Twitter late last month his injuries are “not life or career threatening as some has speculated.”

Asked last week about McDowell, Seahawks Pro Bowl defensive lineman Michael Bennett told reporters about the seriousness of his teammate’s injuries.

“My reaction is, I’m just hoping he’s OK,” Bennett said. “At the end of the day, it’s really not about football at this point. It’s really about his longevity in life, and, I think, to make sure that his brain is good and everything is good after this accident happens to you. We want to make sure he’s OK.”

Seattle took McDowell with the No. 35 overall pick, the third selection in the second round, after he left MSU following an injury-filled and lackluster junior season. The 6-foot-6, 295-pound McDowell finished with 34 tackles and 1.5 sacks in nine games last fall and dealt with a rib ailment early in the season and an ankle injury that forced him out of the Spartans’ final three games in 2016.

“We are just going to see how he progresses down the road,” Carroll said. “Now, looking for him to get back not even for the first game of the season, we are going to wait it out and see what he does.”