"I think if a player is healthy, he should play," Holmgren said. "If he's healthy enough to play, he should play. In fairness to his teammates, first of all. It's a team sport. We talk about team unity and battling for each other, all that kind of stuff. As soon as you start doing things like that, if a guy can play, I think you're not being true to your word. My own philosophy is, if they can play, they play."

Hasselbeck has a bulging disc in his back that has created a weakness in his leg. He said if he did not play for the remainder of the season, he was told he would be fully healthy by Valentine's Day. He said preventing him from playing for the remainder of the season has been talked about, but that decision has not yet been made.

"That has been discussed but that's not my job," Hasselbeck said. "My job is to just get better for this week, and that is what I am trying to do. That's the way I can help the team."

Hasselbeck said he is not suffering from the same injury - a pinched nerve causing weakness in his leg - that kept him out of five earlier games.

He said after he took a beating in Dallas - he was sacked seven times - it caused something to happen to his bad back to the point that he has not been cleared to play by the medical personnel.

Hasselbeck said he will practice lightly or not at all on Wednesday, get another battery of tests Wednesday night and make the determination then about whether he can play in St. Louis this weekend.

"Mike Holmgren gave a great talk to the team today," Hasselbeck said. "Very passionate. Very emotional, just about what our goals are for next year. It was a long talk, but basically he said, 'Hey listen. We've got three games left. Let's win them all. If you are hurt, get better. Because it will be fun to be a part of these three games.'

"And that's me. I'm a guy that's not cleared to play right now and I am trying to get better to be a part of the last three games here for him and for everyone else this season. So that's what I'm trying to do."