The Seattle Seahawks face off against the Chicago Bears on Thursday in their only preseason game at Lumen Field. The Hawks lost their first game of the preseason against the Steelers by a touchdown after a strong second half performance by quarterback Drew Lock. Lock has played with the second unit for the most part during training camp and in the teams first preseason game, with Geno Smith getting the lions share of reps at QB1.

Lock was slated to start this week against the Bears as head coach Pete Carroll and the Hawks continue their evaluation of the quarterback battle.

The plan to start Lock against the Bears fell through yesterday when Lock tested positive for COVID-19, meaning he’ll miss this weeks game.

“We had planned well back before the offseason even started to get to this game, the second game, Geno would be the starter in (the mock game) at Lumen and the opening game, then we would go with Drew in the second game,” Carroll said after Tuesday’s practice.

“This was part of the plan. Regardless of what happened, we were going to give Drew a chance to start a game to see what happens. Fortunately, he has played really well, and he deserves a shot to play, just like everybody deserves a shot to play and show what they can do, so we’ve been able to stick to it.”

This game was important for Lock’s status on the depth chart as he’s trying to gain the starting nod in week one of the regular season.

Another key player for the Seahawks will be missing against the Bears and, most likely, for the rest of the preseason. Rookie running back Ken Walker III didn’t practice yesterday and will miss time with a hernia issue.

“Ken has a little hernia thing that he’s working on, and we have to get through that,” Carroll said. “I don’t know what to tell you yet, but it’s something that we can attend to. We just have to make sure that he’s okay by the opener, that’s what we are shooting for.”

Hawks coach Pete Carroll also gave a positive update on wide receiver Dee Eskridge, who will soon be a full-go at practice but won’t play in Thursday nights game against Chicago.

The Hawks made a move for some help at receiver early this week when they traded safety Ugo Amadi to the Eagles in exchange for J.J. Arcega-Whiteside.

The Hawks and Bears will kick off at 5 pm Thursday night from Lumen Field.