KIRKLAND — Grant Wistrom limped out to the practice bubble on Wednesday afternoon wearing a white No. 96 practice jersey, a brace on his injured knee and the look of a man determined to play in the postseason — left knee sprained or broken or cut off.

He wants desperately to be a part of this. Wants desperately to participate and decapitate his former team tomorrow. Wants desperately to prove he's worth the six-year, $33 million contract that led him from St. Louis to Seattle in the offseason.

"I'd do anything I could to be out on that field," Wistrom said.

This season has killed Grant Wistrom in a way no season has. He was supposed to be the Seahawks' missing piece on defense, and for the five games he played at the beginning of the season, that defense ranked in the top 10.

Now, that defense ranks 26th in a 32-team league. And Wistrom serves as the poster boy for everything gone wrong — injuries to his foot and leg (twice), seven games missed, 3-1/2 sacks for a $14 million signing bonus.

"I've never been snakebit like this before," Wistrom said. "Hopefully, this is the end of it. Hopefully, I'll never miss another game in this uniform."

That's a lot of hope for a defensive end listed on the injury report under "doubtful." That means Wistrom has a 25 percent chance of playing for the first time since the Seahawks beat Minnesota on Dec. 12. Wistrom re-injured his left knee in that game. Another long wait beckoned.

Wistrom spoke optimistically after the Seahawks wrestled the NFC West title from his former team on Sunday. He was going to play against the Rams. Only the knee didn't feel very good on Tuesday and doubtful seemed just that. Wistrom said the knee felt "a lot better" Wednesday.

Coach Mike Holmgren didn't necessarily share his optimism.

"He wants to go," Holmgren said. "It probably won't be the right thing to do medically. We'll see, though. He's doubtful."

He knows critics will point to the fat contract he landed in the offseason. He, too, remembers vividly each of the seven games he missed. And he knows the Seahawks might hold him out another week in order to have a healthier Wistrom on the field in the second round.

Only that game isn't guaranteed.

"It's everything," Wistrom said, referring to the matchup with the Rams. "There's a ton of things involved: going out and doing anything I can to help this team win, help win our first playoff games in 20 years, going out there and earning the money I've been given."

Wistrom has not practiced this week, yet there he was on Wednesday, limping out to the practice bubble. His right knee remained steady, his left chopped awkwardly at the ground.

Teammates say that if anyone can come back from that kind of injury early, it's Wistrom, a player Holmgren often refers to as "a little nuts." Wistrom hopes they're right.

He wants desperately to be a part of this — left leg sprained or broken or cut off.

"That's what I'm thinking," Wistrom said. "I'm thinking I'm going to play on Saturday. If not this Saturday, then the following game."

Greg Bishop: 206-464-3191 or gbishop@seattletimes.com