Charlie Whitehurst will likely be Seattle's starting quarterback on Sunday night against St. Louis with the NFC West title on the line. Pete Carroll says quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is rehabbing to make a return from a strained hip area, but that it would be "against the odds." Whitehurst's only other NFL start came in a 41-7 loss to the Giants.

The Seahawks are preparing to start Charlie Whitehurst on Sunday night against the Rams. Matt Hasselbeck left Sunday's loss to the Buccaneers with a hip injury and he hasn't officially been ruled out. Seattle and St. Louis will play for the NFC West title in Week 17.

The Rams and Seahawks will face off in Week 17 with the NFC West title and an automatic playoff berth on the line. St. Louis and Seattle will play in prime-time on NBC's Sunday Night Football. The NFL utilizes "flexible scheduling" on Sundays in Weeks 11-17.

Matt Hasselbeck left Seattle's loss to the Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon with a hip injury. Hasselbeck appeared to be hurt on a 1-yard touchdown run in which he rolled out of the pocket to his right and ran into the end zone untouched in the first quarter.

Pete Carroll says that Matt Hasselbeck is still Seattle's starting quarterback despite Sunday's benching. The coach said Monday that Hasselbeck will take snaps with the first team in practice this week. Hasselbeck was pulled in the third quarter of Sunday's 34-18 loss to Atlanta after throwing two interceptions and losing a fumble that resulted in a Falcons touchdown.

Pete Carroll isn't sure who he'll start at quarterback in Week 16. Carroll pulled starter Matt Hasselbeck in Seattle's loss to Atlanta in favor of Charlie Whitehurst. "We made a change at quarterback today," Carroll said. "The score was 34-10 just before the end of the third quarter. We had knocked the ball around and given them a couple plays, and I thought, 'I want to see what Charlie can do. How would he do in this situation and playing?' Matt struggled in that third quarter. You can't give him the fumble in the end zone. That happened. But he did throw a couple of balls that got away, and it just seemed like it was an opportunity to go ahead, and let's see what happens. "Charlie did an OK job. He went in there and he handled himself all right, made a couple of mistakes with cadence and things, got some penalties for us that look like an O-lineman, but was the quarterback. So we didn't function as sharp as we would like. But he did move the club a little bit, and he made a couple plays with his legs and made a couple really nice throws. Enough to do a good job. "I know you all want to know what this all means. We're going to go back to work next week and take a look at everything like we always do. And evaluate where we are and what we need to do and all of that. There's no decision about the quarterback situation. You're going to ask me about all that stuff. Not doing anything right now. We're going to go back to work and look at the film and see what's right for us like we do at every other position and we'll get our direction set for next week and we're going to go after Tampa."

Seahawks wide receiver Deon Butler caught a two-yard touchdown pass on the team's final offensive play of the game on Sunday. After the play, Butler stayed on the ground, pointing to his right leg. "You could see something sticking out of his leg, so it didn?t look good," teammate Ruvell Martin said. "It was one of those things when you see one of your teammates in a situation and you can't do anything. He just looked at me and goes, 'My leg.' All I could do was just give him my hand and say a prayer for him and try and comfort him as much as I could." Butler was taken to a local hospital to treat the broken leg.

The Seahawks honored longtime offensive lineman Walter Jones on Sunday by retiring his No. 71. Seattle unveiled the honor in the second quarter of the team's win over Carolina. There was a play the Seahawks put in, too ? a formation with three receivers and two running backs that quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said was installed as a subtle homage to Jones. The Seahawks retired his number earlier this year when Jones announced he was done after playing games in 12 seasons for Seattle.

The Seahawks are hoping that wide receiver Mike Williams will be able to face the Panthers on Sunday. Williams was able to make it through practice on Friday for the first time since injuring his left foot in New Orleans two weeks ago. "I ain't right, but I think I'm good enough," Williams said.

The Seahawks have signed starting linebacker David Hawthorne to a one-year extension. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but according to a league source, it is worth $1.38 million, which includes a $350,000 signing bonus along with an increase of his $470,000 base salary as an exclusive rights free agent to nearly $700,000 for the final six weeks.