The Seahawks have won three of four despite the absence of starting center Jalen Sundell, who has been on IR since Nov. 15. With Sundell now eligible to return, the Seahawks will open his practice window this week, head coach Mike Macdonald announced (via Brady Henderson of ESPN). They’ll have 21 days to activate Sundell.

Sundell, undrafted from North Dakota State in 2024, came off the bench in 12 games as a rookie. He won the Seahawks’ center competition entering this season and started their first nine games before suffering a knee injury. Seattle has turned to Olu Oluwatimi in the middle of its line over the past few weeks.

The return of Sundell could boost the 10-3 Seahawks’ chances of overtaking the Rams in the NFC West and potentially securing the No. 1 seed in the conference. However, it’s unclear if Sundell will reprise his role as the Seahawks’ top center if he comes back.

Asked if Sundell could practice at right guard, where he also competed during the summer, Macdonald said (per Henderson), “We’ll see.”

While third-year man Anthony Bradford has been a full-time starter at right guard this season, Pro Football Focus ranks his performance an unimpressive 69th among 80 qualifiers. The Seahawks are tied for the fewest sacks allowed in the NFL (17), but Bradford has struggled as a pass blocker.

Although PFF hasn’t been enamored of Bradford’s work, Macdonald praised the 24-year-old after Seattle’s Week 14 blowout over Atlanta. Macdonald said Bradford enjoyed the best showing among Seahawks O-linemen on Sunday (via Henderson). If that continues, it may be difficult for Macdonald to pull him from the lineup.

No matter which interior linemen Macdonald chooses to start, a healthy Sundell would at least strengthen the team’s depth up front. Thanks in part to Sundell, Oluwatimi, and Bradford, the Seahawks’ line has paved the way for the league’s second-ranked scoring offense.

Reminding of the Panthers’ pre-Ikem Ekwonu left tackle streak or the Broncos’ run of pre-Mike McGlinchey right tackles, the Seahawks have amassed a lengthy string of their own up front. They will have a new Week 1 center for the seventh straight season.

A recent UDFA from the Division I-FCS level, Jalen Sundell has done enough to be tabbed to snap to Sam Darnold in Week 1. After The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar indicated Sundell was on track to start the season at center, Mike Macdonald (via ESPN.com’s Brady Henderson) confirmed Sundell will be at center and Anthony Bradford at right guard. This wraps monthslong competitions.

For Sundell, this represents quite the climb. It will also bring two North Dakota State alums alongside each other along the Seahawks’ O-line. The team drafted Grey Zabel in Round 1 and slotted him at left guard. Zabel played with Sundell at the FCS powerhouse. The duo started together for the Bison during the 2022 and ’23 seasons, while Sundell — who began his college career two years earlier than Zabel — was a Bison starter during the two prior seasons.

The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped all of the divisions’ seasons south of the FBS level, forcing FCS players to play spring and fall 2021 seasons (Previous Bison QB Trey Lance opted out of the spring slate as a high-end draft prospect). Sundell started 20 North Dakota State games at center that year and continued as the team’s top snapper in 2022. After an injury-marred ’22 season, Sundell kicked out to left tackle in 2023 and became a first-team All-American. The Seahawks did not add him as a UDFA until July 2024, but he made the 53-man roster and played as a 12-game backup.

With Zabel immediately given the LG job and Bradford the favorite to stick at RG, Zabel unseated Olu Oluwatimi. The team had turned to Oluwatimi following Connor Williams‘ in-season retirement, but the 2023 fifth-round pick suffered a back injury during training camp. That allowed Sundell an extended audition, and the Seahawks will go with him to open the season. While Macdonald said Oluwatimi is a candidate to reclaim his job in-season, the Seahawks will return three 2024 starters up front to go with their North Dakota State imports. If Bradford or Zabel went down, Macdonald said (via the Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta) Sundell would slide to guard while Oluwatimi would take over at center.

Sundell follows Williams, who succeeded Evan Brown. From 2019-22, the Seahawks used Justin Britt, Ethan Pocic, Kyle Fuller and Austin Blythe as their season-opening centers (though, Pocic was still Seattle’s primary center in 2021, starting 10 games after missing Week 1). The Seahawks do not have much invested at center presently, but they will give a long-odds option a chance to provide stability.