By Bob Condotta

The Seattle Times

Seahawks offensive line coach Tom Cable says continuity is as important as just about anything in assembling a front that can successfully navigate an NFL season.

It’s why he was beginning to get excited about what he saw happening with the Seattle offensive line as the team entered its bye last weekeven if the results on the field may not have convinced everyone that the Seahawks were making progress up front.

“When you keep together and play together you grow together and at some point you have a breakthrough and we are on the verge of that,” Cable said Tuesday.

He spoke in present-tense hopeful terms that the breakthrough may still happen soon.

But if it does it will occur without starting left guard Luke Joeckel, who was signed to a one-year contract worth up to $8 million last March but will now be out at least four or five weeks following knee surgery on Thursday, with no set timetable for when he will return.

Joeckel, who got $7 million guaranteed, represented the team’s biggest investment in a free agent offensive linemen in six years with the hope that he could help solidify a unit that has struggled the past few seasons.

While there was a thought he might contend to start left tackle he instead settled at left guard and played every snap of the first five games with Cable praising the way his communication and experience had helped bring along second-year player Rees Odhiambo at left tackle.

“You could argue that he’s been the most consistent solid guy for us through five games,” Cable said.

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll talks about Luke Joeckel’s surgery and more on Tuesday.

But Joeckel continued to be bothered by pain in his left knee, on which he had ACL, MCL and PCL surgery last October while a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars, routinely taking rest days during the season.

Seattle coach Pete Carroll said it got to a point where the team decided he need to have arthroscopic surgery to see what the issues were, a procedure that he underwent last Thursday and that Carroll said showed that he “definitely needed to get some things cleaned up.”

Carroll indicated last week only that it was unlikely Joeckel could play Sunday against the New York Giants.

But Tuesday Carroll painted a potentially more worrisome outlook saying the team likely won’t know for three weeks at least when he may be back and that he almost certainly will be out four-to-five weeks.

“Not really,” Carroll said when asked about a timetable. “We have to wait and see. We are going to be optimistic that he can make it back in four, five weeks and we’ll see what happens. Maybe that is optimistic, maybe that isn’t. Got to see how he heals and how he comes back around. … we need to see what happens here and really won’t be able to know for probably three weeks, anyway, to know where he is.”

Carroll said third-year veteran Mark Glowinski and rookie Ethan Pocic will compete to fill in for Joeckel but said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if both play against the Giants indicating a potential rotation at that spot, at least for the New York game.

Cable reiterated that saying “regardless of who goes out first, we should plan on seeing both of them in the game.”

Glowinksi started at left guard all of last season before moving to right guard this year and starting the first two games before being replaced by Oday Aboushi. Pocic, a second-round pick out of LSU, has yet to play on offense but has played regularly at guard and center in practice and the preseason.

“They are going to share time this week and we are going to give those two guys a chance to battle it out and compete for it and see how it goes,” Carroll said.

Cable said the decision on who to start will be determined by which player is most consistent in practice.

But he said he sees value in guaranteeing that both will play regardless of who starts.

“Neither one of them have played enough reps here lately, so conditioning would be an issue,” Cable said. “Two little bit styles of play, which together I think will be really good. Let’s tag-team it and then as we go through this off-time with Luke, we’ll figure out what’s best.”

The loss of Joeckel means the Seahawks will unveil their third different starting lineup in six games against the Giants but the first that is forced on them due to injury.

The Seahawks spent the bye week exploring options to add to the offensive line including having an extensive visit with free agent left tackle Branden Albert, who was in town through at least Monday.

But Tuesday came and went without an addition.

Carroll confirmed Albert stayed in town after his reported visit last Monday saying “we talked to him, spent a good while with him, but came to no agreement on anything.”

Asked if the team would consider adding to the line from the outside Carroll said “we’re always looking.”

The NFL trade deadline is Oct. 31. Seattle may have a better idea by then if Joeckel’s absence will be even more extended.

The loss of Joeckel gives Seattle nine healthy offensive linemen. But three have never taken an NFL snap — Pocic, fellow rookie Jordan Roos and left tackle Isaiah Battle. The only backup with experience is Matt Tobin, acquired in a trade with the Eagles in August.

Still, Cable said he remains optimistic as ever about the prospects of the line going forward despite the loss of Joeckel for at least a month.

“Here we are with another issue,” Cable said. “But I think this time we are more equipped to handle it.”