Jerrick Reed II

Seahawks Activate CB Coby Bryant From IR

NOVEMBER 23: After placing rookie sixth-round safety Jerrick Reed II on IR following a torn ACL, Carroll was indeed able to find room on the roster for Bryant. The second-year Cincinnati product is now set to return to a crowded cornerbacks room led by Witherspoon, Woolen, and Brown with solid contributions from Jackson and Burns. Brown seems to have taken his third cornerback role while Jackson started ahead of him all last year, so it will be interesting to see how Bryant fits into the defense moving forward. Reed, in his first season out of New Mexico, hasn’t been asked to do much as a rookie on defense but is currently third on the team in special teams tackles.

In addition to the two IR transactions, the Seahawks also activated practice squad quarterback Brett Rypien for tonight as a standard gameday elevation. They’ll hope he’s not necessary, but with Geno Smith banged up heading into the Thanksgiving Day matchup with the division-rival 49ers, Rypien will serve as Drew Lock‘s backup should Smith be forced to the bench for any reason.

NOVEMBER 19: The Seahawks selected Coby Bryant in the fourth round of the 2022 draft, and Bryant appeared in all 17 games in his rookie season, including six starts. He also enjoyed a 65% snap share.

He started the first two games of the 2023 campaign at nickel and played in 77% of Seattle’s defensive snaps despite exiting the club’s Week 2 contest early due to a toe injury. That injury ultimately forced the ‘Hawks to place Bryant on injured reserve.

According to head coach Pete Carroll, Bryant is healthy and is ready to return to the field (via Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic). However, the Seahawks have not yet opened his 21-day practice window because they feel they do not have enough room for him on the active roster.

That serves as both an indictment of Bryant’s play as well as a testament to the quality of Seattle’s cornerback depth chart. Rookie Devon Witherspoon, the No. 5 overall pick of this year’s draft, has been on the field for every defensive snap this season, and he has thrived. Pro Football Focus’ metrics presently position the Illinois product as the eighth-best corner in the league out of 109 qualified players, and the 55.2% completion rate and 80.7 quarterback rating he has yielded support that assessment. He has also amassed two sacks, a pick-six, and 12 passes defensed.

Riq Woolen, who earned a Pro Bowl nod and led the league with six interceptions in his rookie season in 2022 — he was selected one round after Bryant — is enjoying a solid sophomore season, and he rarely comes off the field. Tre Brown, meanwhile, has a 60% snap share and has generally played well, and Michael Jackson and Artie Burns have been useful complementary pieces.

Bryant, who was tied for third in the league with four forced fumbles in 2022, has struggled in coverage, having yielded a 75% completion percentage and 116.5 QB rating in 2022 and a whopping 90% completion percentage and 98.7 QB rating this year. In his limited action in 2023, PFF assigned him an abysmal 39.1 coverage grade.

As such, Bryant may need to wait for an injury or a sudden downturn in performance from one of his fellow CBs to come off of IR and aid in the Seahawks’ push for an NFC West title.

NFL Injury Rumors: Seahawks, Woods, Ward

The Seahawks already face a tall task tomorrow night as they host the 49ers in the last of the three Thanksgiving Day matchups. That challenge is only made more difficult by the fact that Seattle is dealing with multiple injuries to key players as quarterback Geno Smith and running back Kenneth Walker both head into tomorrow with injury designations.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported earlier today that Smith hadn’t been able to test his bruised elbow much at all yet in the short week. Smith spent today’s practice determining just how much he could throw in order to set expectations on his availability for tomorrow. Later on in the afternoon, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo relayed that “all indications have (Smith) tracking to play” against the rival 49ers Thursday night.

In the case of Walker, head coach Pete Carroll told reporters that Walker suffered an “oblique strain that was legit,” per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. It sounds, based on Carroll’s press talks, that Walker is in danger of missing some time, but Schefter went on to report that the team doesn’t consider him to be an injured reserve candidate. Walker likely would’ve missed a week on regular rest, but with a short week, it would be extremely unlikely for Walker to make an appearance tomorrow, hence his doubtful game status.

In addition to Smith and Walker, the Seahawks will also be without rookie safety and special teams standout Jerrick Reed II, who reportedly tore his ACL and will miss the remainder of the season, according to Schefter. The sixth-round New Mexico product hasn’t been asked to do much on defense this year but is currently third on the team in special teams tackles.

Here are a few more injury rumors from around the league:

  • The Colts placed second-year tight end Jelani Woods on IR with a hamstring injury just prior to the start of the season in order to open up a roster spot for wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie. It became a given, at that point, that Woods would miss at least the team’s first four games, but to date, he has yet to make his 2023 debut. He’s eligible for activation from IR, but according to Joel A. Erickson of FOX59/CBS4, Woods experienced a setback in his rehabilitation with his opposite hamstring that will keep him from returning for now. Head coach Shane Steichen stated that he “does not know” if it will be a season-ending setback.
  • The Browns may sport one of the league’s best defenses this year, but their secondary is limping into Week 12 as all four starters hold questionable game statuses as of Wednesday. Safeties Grant Delpit and Juan Thornhill and cornerback Greg Newsome II all hold a decent chance of playing on Sunday, but cornerback Denzel Ward is dealing with a shoulder injury that may not only hold him out of this weekend’s game but perhaps beyond that, as well, according to Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. The team isn’t quite ready to rule Ward out yet, but they are bracing themselves for the idea that they will be without him for multiple games.
  • We have seen high ankle sprains claim the playing time of multiple players this season. Patriots offensive tackle Trent Brown sought out a second opinion on his ankle injury yesterday, per Mike Reiss of ESPN, and was diagnosed with both high- and low-ankle sprains, as well as an MCL sprain. Players have missed time with less, but Brown reportedly plans to play through the ankle and knee injuries.

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/11/23

With many rookie minicamps set to start tomorrow, teams were busy today inking draft picks to contracts. We’ve compiled those signings below:

Cleveland Browns

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

  • DT Cameron Young (fourth round, Mississippi State)
  • C Olusegun Oluwatimi (fifth round, Michigan)
  • S Jerrick Reed II (sixth round, New Mexico)

Tennessee Titans

  • TE Josh Whyle (fifth round, Cincinnati)
  • OT Jaelyn Duncan (sixth round, Maryland)
  • WR Colton Dowell (seventh round, Tennessee-Martin)