The Seattle Seahawks don?t need receivers D.J. Hackett and Deion Branch to ride white horses into practice on Monday. The team?s passing attack survived while Hackett and Branch battled injuries. But there?s no doubt the return of the team?s starting receivers, who are both expected to return this week, will put smiles on the faces of coach Mike Holmgren and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. ?I think it?s going to be very important,? Holmgren said. ?I think they?re both good football players, and you need your ... best guys. It will be nice to have them back.? Hackett has not played since suffering a high-ankle sprain in the first half of the season opener. Branch missed the last two games after spraining his foot in the first half against Pittsburgh on Oct. 7.

The Seahawks placed Pro Bowl fullback Mack Strong on injured reserve Wednesday and signed veteran Fred McCrary, who played with Atlanta last season.

Seattle's longtime fullback Mack Strong has a neck injury that will end his career. Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said Monday that Strong woke up Sunday feeling tingling in his hands. After getting hit hard twice early in Sunday's loss to Pittsburgh, Strong felt his hand and arm going numb, Holmgren said. An examination determined he has a pinched nerve in his neck. It won't require surgery, but Strong told reporters at Seahawks headquarters here that it will end his career. The two-time Pro Bowler turned 36 this month, and has spent 15 seasons with the Seahawks.

For weeks, Shaun Alexander's cast has been getting more attention than his running. "The cast is a great fashion statement - but I am already ready for it to end," the Seahawks' star running back said Thursday, three days before he plays for the fourth game with a cast protecting his cracked left wrist, Sunday at Pittsburgh (3-1). "I know I'm healing at an incredible rate," he said with a chuckle. "All the doctors are amazed with how well I healed." Alexander said he will probably get a third X-ray on the wrist following the game against the Steelers. Alexander said it's taken him time to get used to running with the cast. And he has dropped passes trying to catch them with his good arm.