The Seahawks have ruled out four defensive starters for the Monday Night Football game against the Lions in Detroit. Defensive players Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy II and linebackers Boye Mafe and Uchenna Nwosu will not play against the Lions in Week 4 due to injuries. Williams and Murphy suffered injuries in the Week 3 win over the Dolphins that forced them to leave the game, and neither was able to return. After not practicing all week, both players were ruled out for Monday evening.

Boye Mafe is also out due to a knee injury that has been bothering him for several weeks. Although Mafe was questionable in Week 3, he was able to play against Miami, where he added another sack on the season. He wasn’t able to practice all week and therefore won’t play in Detroit. Uchenna Nwosu is not yet ready to make his season debut as he has also been ruled out. The good news is that Nwosu was able to return to training on a limited basis on Saturday for the first time since his pre-season injury.

Although four key defensive players will not play, head coach Mike Macdonald does not expect any of them to miss significant playing time. “We’ll evaluate a few people again later next week, I think. I’m not sure about the actual timelines, but none are long-term in my opinion unless something changes.”

Inside linebacker Jerome Baker is the only Seahawk listed as questionable for Week 4 as he still tries to deal with the hamstring injury that sidelined him last week. Baker struggled with the hamstring injury throughout training camp and aggravated it again in New England’s second game of the season. He’s gotten limited work in practice over the past two weeks and could be a game-changing decision on Monday night.

What’s encouraging is that Kenneth Walker III will return to the lineup after missing the last two games. The third-year senior injured his oblique joint toward the end of the Week 1 win over the Broncos and hasn’t played since. He was able to return to practice on a limited basis this week and the team believes he is healthy enough to return in time for the game against the Lions. “He looked good, he’s ready to go,” Macdonald said.

The Lions have ruled out one player and listed one as questionable. Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow was unable to practice all week due to a pectoral injury and will not play Monday night. The team listed rookie second-round pick Ennis Rakestraw Jr. as also questionable as he battles a hamstring injury.