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Whether Diontae Johnson turns a corner, becomes a distraction or is released isn't clear, but the Ravens are trying to carry on as usual.CHICAGO — Seahawks starting running back Kenneth Walker III will miss the final two games of the regular season after the team announced Thursday it has placed him on injured reserve. The team made the announcement hours before its game Thursday night against the Bears in Chicago. Putting Walker on IR opened up a spot on the 53-man roster for rookie George Holani, who will become the third running back behind Zach Charbonnet and Kenny McIntosh. The news ends a disappointing third NFL season for Walker, who battled three different injuries and will end up rushing for just 573 yards in 11 games while averaging a career-low 3.7 yards per carry. The Seahawks also announced cornerback Artie Burns has been elevated off the practice squad to play against the Bears. Walker suffered an ankle injury in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 27-23 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Players who go on IR have to miss four games before they can return. That means Walker could return if Seattle were to get to the playoffs and then win two games. But it means he will miss a game next weekend against the Rams in Los Angeles that could have playoff implications. The team on Wednesday declared Walker out for Thursday’s game against the Bears. But coach Mike Macdonald had been vague about Walker’s status beyond that saying only “he’s gonna be out this game’’ when asked if the team had learned anything about a timeline for his return. Walker, who was the 41 st overall pick of the 2022 draft out of Michigan State, had 1,050 yards in 15 games as a rookie in 2022, averaging 4.6 per attempt. He followed that up with 905 yards in his second season in 2023, though he saw his yards-per-carry average drop to 4.1. The hope was Walker would rebound to his rookie numbers in 2024 under new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. The season started both promisingly and ominously. Walker rushed for 103 yards in a season-opening win over Denver. But he suffered an oblique injury in the game that caused him to sit out the next two weeks and foreshadowed an injury-filled season. Walker returned in week four but never again came close to the 100-yard mark for a game the rest of the season as Seattle struggled to get a running game going. His high total after the Denver game was 83 yards on 25 carries in a November home loss to the Rams. Walker then suffered a calf injury calf injury that held him out of games against Arizona and Green Bay earlier this month. He returned last week against the Vikings but had just 31 yards on eight carries before being sideline again. Walker also played a big role in the passing game this year with a career-high 46 receptions (he had 29 and 27 his first two years). But Walker gained just 299 yards on those catches with a long of 21 in a season when the injuries seemed to sap his explosiveness some. Walker, who had long gains of 74 yards in 2022 and 45 in 2023, had a long run this season of 28 in week four against the Lions. He didn’t have a run of longer than 14 in his last six games, encompassing 88 carries. The Seahawks will now go the rest of the way – barring a long playoff run --- with Charbonnet, a second-round pick in 2023 who has 453 yards and averaging 4.3 per attempt and turned in the best game this season by a Seahawk rusher with 134 in a in at Arizona on Dec. 8; and McIntosh, a seventh-round pick a year ago who has 77 on 17. Holani, an undrafted free agent out of Boise State, has 10 yards on three attempts. Grubb on Tuesday said he was confident the team can put together a good running game no matter who is in the backfield. "Yeah, I don't think that personnel-wise we should have any limitations,’’ he said. “We should be able to keep building those things up front. We're in good shape, so I think you just focus more on the offensive line and maybe less on the runners." Walker will enter the final season of his rookie contract in 2025 when he is due to make $1,856 million, none of which is guaranteed. Teams can extend rookie contracts after a player’s third year, meaning Walker could ask for a new deal following this season. Whether the Seahawks will want to --- or for how much --- could loom as one of the more intersestin questions of the off-season. This story will be updated.
KARACHI: Pakistan-based technology-driven fashion startup, LAAM Technologies has successfully raised $5.5 million in seed funding, aiming to elevate the South Asian internet marketplace fashion platform to a global stage. In a post on LinkedIn on Thursday, Faisal Aftab, Managing Partner at Zayn VC, said “Thrilled to announce that Zayn VC has co-led a $5.5M seed round in LAAM Technologies alongside Disrupt.com.” Ecosystem report: amid dwindling startup funding, i2i looks to offer insights This funding round also saw participation from Graph Ventures, Mentors Fund, and tech leaders from Oracle, Microsoft, Google, Salesforce and more, he added. “LAAM’s ability to elevate South Asian fashion onto the global stage while empowering local artisans and sellers is commendable. We believe LAAM has a unique opportunity to transform how South Asian fashion is perceived and accessed globally. We’re proud to support their journey” Aftab added in the post. Refereeing to the development at the launch of the Pakistan Startup Ecosystem Report by Invest2Innovate in Karachi, Kalsoom Lakhani, Founder at I2I & GP at I2I Ventures, said the fundraising by LAAM Technologies at $5.5 million has totaled the disclosed financing to Pakistani startups at $42.5 million in the outgoing year 2024. Aftab further said LAAM has established itself as the premier platform for South Asian fashion, curating an unmatched collection of over 100,000 items from 1,000 plus brands – “making it the largest platform of its kind globally.” Other officials related to startups ecosystem said the development suggests that good investment days are returning to Pakistan with return of stability in the domestic economy. Danish Elahi, CEO, Elahi Group of Companies, said “I am bullish for startups in 2025.” He said this in the backdrop of a dramatic decline in funding to Pakistani startups at $74 million in in 2023 from a peak of $355 million in 2022. He said the deceleration in inflation reading and cut in interest rate on bank financing to businesses would help revive investment climate in the country. Logistics and Fintech startups are expected to mobilize significant investment, going forward. LAAM Technologies said on its LinkedIn post that building Pakistan’s E-commerce ecosystem through cutting-edge technology involves leveraging the latest innovations to create a seamless, efficient, and scalable online marketplace.Imprisoned Proud Boys leader balks at answering a prosecutor's questions about Capitol attack