Status of DK Metcalf, Abe Lucas for Seahawks Sunday at 49ers. Connor Williams, as a guard?

The Seahawks getting back their game-changing receiver?

Plus, their long-awaited tackle playing for the first time in almost a full year?

That would make Seattle’s toughest task yet this season a bit more manageable.

Coach Mike Macdonald expects DK Metcalf to practice Wednesday. That will be first on-field work with his teammates since he sprained his left knee Oct. 20 in the Seahawks’ win at Atlanta. That remains Seattle’s only win in the last seven weeks.

“Well. (He’s) doing well,” Macdonald said Monday following the team’s practice in its return from its bye week.

“Again, optimistic. We should see him on Wednesday out there.”

“Optimistic,” that is, Metcalf will play Sunday when the Seahawks (4-5) try to end a six-game losing streak to the San Francisco 49ers. Seattle is trying to get out of last place in the NFC West.

Macdonald has used the word “optimistic” in the two previous game weeks. But Metcalf didn’t play in Seattle’s losses at home to Buffalo and the Los Angeles Rams before its bye lst week.

After three weeks out, Metcalf appears poised to return against the 49ers Sunday. He had three catches on 11 targets from Geno Smith for 48 yards Oct. 10 when the 49ers beat the Seahawks yet again 36-24 at Lumen Field. That was his most targets with his fewest receptions in a game in Metcalf’s six-year career.

Abe Lucas practices, ready to debut

Abe Lucas practiced again Monday.

His team has been increasing its starting right tackle’s work over the 21-day window of practices the Seahawks have maximized since designating Lucas to return off the physically-unable-to-perform list last month.

That window ends Wednesday. The Seahawks have to decide whether to add Lucas to the active roster for the first time this season or, if he’s not ready to play, but him on injured reserve for the rest of the season.

Signs are Lucas is going to go on the 53-man roster Wednesday to make his season debut Sunday at San Francisco. Backup right tackle George Fant may go on injured reserve Wednesday to clear a roster spot for Lucas.

The head coach said it’s realistic that Lucas plays this weekend.

“I think that’ll help us,” Macdonald said.

“(Him playing at) San Francisco is a realistic expectation at this point.”

Lucas has not played since last Dec. 31 against Pittsburgh, Seattle’s final home game of the 2023 season. He had knee surgery last winter.

Macdonald had said in August Lucas’ recovery from surgery was taking longer than the team expected.

Last month, Lucas said: “I mean, if I could have taken a pill to get me back in three months, yeah, that would have been great. But that was just a very unrealistic.

“I don’t know where people got that from, that I was going to be back by training camp.”

The Seahawks have played three right tackles while Lucas has been on a long, delayed road back from that surgery.

Fant started the opener Sept. 8 against Denver. He injured his knee on the 13th play of the season. He spent the next eight games on injured reserve. He became one of the two injured-reserve players each team can bring back to play during the season. He started Seattle’s last game, against the Rams before the bye. He hurt his knee again, 17 plays into that game.

In between, Stone Forsythe started five games. He allowed the most pressures of any lineman in the NFL, 35, per Pro Football Focus. Then he injured his hand. He’s on injured reserve.

Rookie sixth-round pick Mike Jerrell from Division-II Findlay made his NFL debut Oct. 20 in Atlanta starting at right tackle. He had a strong debut that had coaches and teammates congratulating him during and after that Seahawks win.

The defensive lines of the Buffalo Bills and the Rams overpowered Jerrell and Seattle’s offensive line in the last two games.

Starting center as a guard?

Right guard and left guard have also been problem spots this season. Macdonald said Anthony Bradford will start again at right guard Sunday. It appears Laken Tomlinson, a 49ers Pro Bowl selection in 2021, will start for the 10th time in 10 games this weekend in Santa Clara.

Macdonald said Monday there has been consideration among Seahawks coaches to move starting center Connor Williams to one of the guard spots.

“There has,” Macdonald said, “but we’re staying put right now.”

Williams started at left guard for Dallas in all of his first four NFL seasons, 2018 through ‘21. Miami moved him to center when he joined the Dolphins for the 2022 season.

After becoming interested in adding him as a free agent in the spring, the Seahawks signed Williams in August to a one-year contract worth up to $4 million. He was eight months removed from reconstructive knee surgery.

He’s had problems with shotgun snaps and direct snaps back to Smith this season.

Undrafted rookie Jalen Sundell from North Dakota State recently passed 2023 draft choice Olu Oluwatimi from Michigan as Williams’ backup at center.