HEADLINES

Julian Love

S Julian Love, DT Jarran Reed Come Off IR For Seahawks

December 6th, 2025 at 3:21pm CST by Ely Allen

The Seahawks are getting healthy at a good time in the season with two big names coming off injured reserve. The team announced this afternoon that safety Julian Love and defensive tackle Jarran Reed have both been activated from injured reserve.

Earlier this week, both Love and Reed had their practice windows opened. As such, today’s moves come as no surprise. Wideout Dareke Young also returned to practice on Wednesday, but at this point he remains on IR. Nevertheless, Seattle’s defense will welcome back a pair of key contributors in time for the stretch run.

Love played in the Seahawks’ first three games this season but a hamstring injury has kept him out of the lineup since. Getting the 2023 Pro Bowler back in the fold will be critical for the secondary. Seattle currently ranks 11th against the pass, a relative weak spot compared to the team’s other standout showings on defense. Love, 27, will reprise his starting role upon return.

Ty Okada has made nine starts in Love’s absence, finding success in his elevated role. It will be interesting to see if he manages to remain a regular defensive presence moving forward. In any case, Love’s return will represent a boost for the closing weeks of the season. The former Giant topped 100 tackles and reached double-digit pass deflections during each of his first two Seattle campaigns. A similar impact during the playoffs could go a long way toward a deep postseason run.

Reed has been on IR since November, and he has been recovering from wrist surgery since then. The 10-year veteran posted seven sacks as a full-time starter in 2023, but his playing time and production fell off. This season, Reed has only posted 1.5 sacks in eight games. He has been on the field for less than half of Seattle’s defensive snaps, and that will likely remain the case upon return with Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy set to continue as starters.

With Love and Reed now back on the active roster, the Seahawks have four IR activations remaining for the regular season. Young will account for one of those once he is brought back into the fold.

Adam La Rose contributed to this post.

Seahawks Designate S Julian Love, 2 Others To Return From IR

December 3rd, 2025 at 1:22pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Seahawks designated safety Julian Love, defensive tackle Jarran Reed, and wide receiver Dareke Young to return from injured reserve on Wednesday, per ESPN’s Brady Henderson.

Love was placed on IR on November 1 after a setback in his recovery from an early-season hamstring injury. Reed and Young joined him a week later, Reed with wrist and thumb issues, while Young with a quad strain.

Love has only played three games this season, though he played all of Seattle’s defense snaps in those contests. Third-year safety Ty Okada has stepped up in Love’s absence with a solid all-around performance. He ranks 19th among NFL safeties (min. 100 snaps) with a 74.3 overall grade from Pro Football Focus (subscription required). He also earned grades of at least 70.0 for his run defense, pass rushing, and coverage. As a result, Okada could maintain a role in the Seahawks defense even after Love returns to the field.

Reed, a 10-year veteran, appeared in Seattle’s first eight games with a 47% snap share, a notable decrease from 72% in 2023 and 60% last year. His production has dipped accordingly; he only recorded 17 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and one tackle for loss at the start of the season. The Seahawks have primarily called on Brandon Pili to fill Reed’s snaps, though Mike Morris and Quinton Bohanna have also seen an uptick in playing time.

Young occupied a core special teams role to start the year with only 34 snaps on offense in his six appearances. The fourth-year wideout had a similar snap distribution during his first three seasons in the NFL. A number of Seahawks saw additional playing time in Young’s absence, including outside linebacker Connor O’Toole and wide receiver Cody White.

Love, Young, and Reed will all have 21 days to practice before they must be activated or placed on season-ending IR.

Seahawks Eyeing Week 14 Return For Julian Love

November 29th, 2025 at 1:31pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Seahawks are hoping to get injured safety Julian Love back from injured reserve in Week 14, according to The Athletic’s Michael Shawn-Dugar.

Love, 27, has dealt with multiple injuries this season. He played through a groin injury in Week 2 but sat out the following week with a hamstring issue. He return in Week 4 and played a full game, but further issues with his hamstring sidelined him again.

The Seahawks were initially hoping that Love would come back within a few weeks, but he suffered a setback shortly after his return to practice in Week 6. He was eventually placed on injured reserve on November 1 and is now eligible to be activated after missing four games. He has not been designated to return, but that will likely come early next week so he has time to ramp up before Seattle’s Week 14 matchup with the Falcons.

The Seahawks have primarily called on third-year safety Ty Okada to replace Love this season. Despite a 68% snap share, he ranks fifth on the team in tackles and passes defended, and his 73.3 overall grade from Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranks 20th among all NFL safeties with at least 200 snaps.

The Seahawks have been one of the league’s best defenses this year with the third-fewest yards per rush and yards per pass in the league. Love’s return could further boost the unit, though he will have to stay healthy for the rest of the year to do so.

Seahawks Place Julian Love, Eric Saubert On IR

November 1st, 2025 at 3:20pm CST by Connor Byrne

In advance of their meeting with the Commanders on Sunday, the Seahawks have placed safety Julian Love and tight end Eric Saubert on IR, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports. Love is dealing with a hamstring injury, while a calf issue will shelve Saubert. Both players will miss a minimum of four games.

Love hasn’t played since Week 4, but the 5-2 Seahawks held off on putting him on IR throughout October. With the team coming off its bye, Love suffered a setback this week, head coach Mike Macdonald said (per Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic). He’ll be out until at least Week 13 as a result.

After earning his lone Pro Bowl nod in 2023 and signing a three-year extension, Love was a 17-game starter for the first time in his career last season. He racked up 109 tackles, 12 passes defensed, and three interceptions along the way. Love recorded 18 tackles and a sack in three starts this year before the injury derailed his season.

The Love-less Seahawks have deployed Coby Bryant and Ty Okada as their top two safeties for most of 2025. Their pass defense, which will get two-time Pro Bowl corner Devon Witherspoon back from a three-game absence this week, ranks a strong 10th in the NFL.

After a season with the NFC West rival 49ers, Seubert signed a one-year pact with the Seahawks last offseason. He ranks third among Seahawks tight ends in snaps, trailing starter AJ Barner and Elijah Arroyo, and has caught his only target for 12 yards.

Along with the IR placements of Love and Saubert, the Seahawks made a handful of other moves Saturday, Dugar reports. The team activated fullback Robbie Ouzts, who had been on IR since Sept. 24, and signed safety Jerrick Reed II from the practice squad to the active roster.  Additionally, wideouts Cody White and Ricky White III received standard elevations from the practice squad. As Dugar notes, calling up the Whites may bode poorly for receiver Cooper Kupp, who’s questionable for Week 9 with heel and hamstring injuries.

NFL Injury Updates: Penning, Thomas, Seahawks, MNF

September 20th, 2025 at 3:22pm CST by Ely Allen

The Saints have been dealing with multiple injuries on the offensive line this week. In his first season with the team, guard Dillon Radunz has been spot starting in place of presumed starting guard Trevor Penning, who has been dealing with a turf toe injury since the preseason.

Per Mike Triplett of NewOrleans.Football, Radunz has been ruled out as he deals with a toe injury of his own. Penning, though, may be available to retake a starting spot. The fourth-year lineman hasn’t played yet in 2025, but he returned to practice on Wednesday, according to ESPN’s Katherine Terrell.

Formerly the Saints’ starting right tackle, Penning was expected to shift into a starting role on the inside as first-round Texas rookie Kelvin Banks took the starting left tackle job, pushing last year’s first-round rookie left tackle, Taliese Fuaga, to the right side of the line. Penning was a limited participant for the rest of the week of practice, and he’s listed as questionable, but with Radunz out, Penning may be challenged to make his season debut.

Fuaga is also listed as questionable, despite not practicing at all this week as he deals with knee and back issues. Joining Radunz with an out designation is defensive end Chase Young, who like Penning, has not played yet this year.

Here are a few other injury updates from around the NFL:

  • Giants left tackle Andrew Thomas has yet to play in 2025 as he works his way back from a Lisfranc injury from 2024. The veteran lineman is listed as questionable this week and has been rumored as likely to play. He may be able to do so without fully coming back. Per Ryan Dunleavy of New York Post Sports, Thomas hasn’t “ruled out that he could play in a rotation as he works his way back” with a focus on longevity. The team will see how he feels today before making a final decision on his status for tomorrow, according to Dan Duggan of The Athletic, but the idea of using a rotation to ease him in is seemingly gaining popularity.
  • The Seahawks sustained injuries over the last week to running back Zach Charbonnet, cornerback Devon Witherspoon, and safety Julian Love. There was worry that each player could be out for an extended period of time, but The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar reports that none of the three are being considered for stints on injured reserve. All three, though, are doubtful to play in Week 3.
  • After tight end Isaiah Likely suffered a foot injury in training camp, the Ravens opted not to place him on any injured lists to avoid a guaranteed four-week absence. The 25-year-old returned to practice this week but won’t be active to play on Monday. They’ll likely aim to have him back in time Week 4. Joining Likely as a scratch this week will be defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike, per Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. Madubuike is dealing with a neck injury, and the team is evaluating some symptoms they’ve seen throughout the week to be safe. Sixth-round rookie Aeneas Peebles is likely to get some increased run this week as a result.
  • As for the other Monday Night Football team, the Lions will be without pass rusher Marcus Davenport for their trip to Baltimore, per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Davenport declined to give any details about the nature of his injury, but his arm has been seen in a sling. Whatever the situation, head coach Dan Campbell does not see the situation as season-ending.

NFL DB Injury Updates: Seahawks, Steelers, Gonzalez, Bland, Johnson

September 12th, 2025 at 4:21pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Seahawks are nursing a banged-up secondary heading into Week 2 and will likely be without starting cornerback Devon Witherspoon and first-round safety Nick Emmanwori.

Witherspoon played every snap in Week 1 but didn’t practice this week due to a knee injury. He’s listed as doubtful on Seattle’s injury report and seems very unlikely to take the field. The injury is not thought to be serious, said head coach Mike Macdonald (via Michael Shawn-Dugar of The Athletic).

Emmanwori only played four snaps in his NFL debut before going down with a high ankle sprain. He didn’t participate this week, either, and was ruled out for Sunday’s game. Macdonald added that Emmanwori will avoid injured reserve for right now after mentioning the possibility earlier in the week, per Shawn-Dugar.

Witherspoon’s absence this weekend will force another Seahawks defender to step up in the slot, a decision that will be further complicated with Emmanwori sidelined. He could have been another option at nickel or lined up at safety with Julian Love in the slot; instead, Seattle will have to flip an outside cornerback into the slot or put inexperienced third-year safety Ty Okada on the field.

Here are some other secondary injury updates from around the NFL:

DB Notes: Lassiter, Texans, Colts, Simmons, Davis, Lions, Chiefs, Dolphins, Hawks, Jags

August 20th, 2024 at 3:54pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Texans showed interest in re-signing Steven Nelson this offseason, but the two-year Houston starter ended up retiring. Houston has identified another clear candidate to start opposite Derek Stingley. The defending AFC South champions are prepared to roll with second-rounder Kamari Lassiter as their No. 2 cornerback. Not much drama exists here, with KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson indicating Lassiter has worked with Houston’s first-team defense since the offseason program. Although Lassiter sustained an ankle injury earlier during training camp, the No. 42 overall pick reclaimed his starter post — ahead of former first-rounders Jeff Okudah and C.J. Henderson — and will be expected to work in tandem with Stingley.

“For a young guy to come in and not be noticed a lot for doing something negative, everything has been positive with Kamari,” Texans HC DeMeco Ryans said. “He’s exactly the guy we saw from the Georgia film.”

Here is the latest from several other DB situations:

  • The Chiefs still need to decide on a No. 2 corner opposite Trent McDuffie. Long known for moving on from corners after one contract (as they most recently did with L’Jarius Sneed), the Chiefs have a few options — most acquired in 2022. Fourth- and seventh-round picks from that draft Joshua Williams and Jaylen Watson, who played extensively last year, lead the way. No one has seized the job, per The Athletic’s Nate Taylor, who has 2022 seventh-rounder Nazeeh Johnson, rookie sixth-rounder Kamal Hadden and former Cowboys second-rounder Kelvin Joseph making the team as well (subscription required). Versatile performer Chamarri Conner, a 2023 fourth-rounder, will be in the mix at corner, but Andy Reid said (via Taylor) this could be a rotation into the season.
  • Justin Simmons accepted a one-year, $7.5MM Falcons deal. That price being so far beyond what other veteran safeties commanded confirms a decent market formed for the perennial All-Pro. The Colts‘ questions in the secondary did not lead them into this chase, however, with the Indianapolis Star’s Nate Atkins indicating the team did not make the ex-Bronco an offer. Former third-rounder Nick Cross, recently re-signed veteran Ronnie Harrison and third-year performer Rodney Thomas have rotated in alongside Julian Blackmon in camp. Colts assistant GM Ed Dodds said no safety moves are anticipated.
  • Seeing his three-year contract traded from the Buccaneers to the Lions, Carlton Davis remains scheduled to be a 2025 free agent. Davis will be 27 for most of this season, which should give him a decent market — should no Detroit extension be reached in the meantime — come March. A new agency will be representing the former second-rounder for his next negotiation. Davis is joining Athletes First, per a recent announcement.
  • Jalen Ramsey and Kendall Fuller will start on the boundary for the Dolphins, with former UDFA success story Kader Kohou in place as Miami’s slot defender. Despite Cam Smith being a second-round pick, the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson notes Ethan Bonner — a 2023 UDFA who has stood out in training camp — is the frontrunner to be Miami’s top backup CB. Bonner, who recently returned from a concussion sustained in camp, played only 11 defensive snaps last season. While Smith recently came back after missing nearly three weeks due to injury, ESPN.com’s Marcel Louis-Jacques adds he is week-to-week after sustaining another injury against the Commanders. Despite playing 15 games last season, Smith only saw 20 defensive snaps.
  • The base value on Julian Love‘s second Seahawks contract checks in at $33MM, per OverTheCap. The three-year deal includes $11.97MM guaranteed at signing and dropped Love’s cap number by just more than $1.6MM. Option bonuses (worth a combined $4.8MM) are in place to keep the cap hits lower, with both Love’s 2024 and ’25 cap figures coming in at just over $6MM. Love’s 2025 base salary ($1.2MM) is guaranteed for injury and will shift to a full guarantee five days after Super Bowl LIX, ESPN.com’s Brady Henderson tweets.
  • The Jaguars‘ Tashaun Gipson reunion pact is worth $2.55MM, Wilson tweets. It comes with $525K guaranteed. The Jags will still be shorthanded at safety for a while. In addition to Gipson’s six-week suspension, Doug Pederson said (via ESPN.com’s Michael DiRocco) Andrew Wingard‘s recent knee injury will sideline him for at least a few games.

Seahawks, S Julian Love Reach Agreement On Extension

July 24th, 2024 at 10:07pm CST by Ely Allen

After making his first Pro Bowl with the Seahawks last year, safety Julian Love was set to enter the 2024 season on the final year of his contract. It appears that Seattle valued his contribution in 2023 enough to sign Love to a new three-year extension worth up to $36MM, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Love left Notre Dame after his junior season as a consensus All-American, getting drafted in the fourth round by the Giants in 2019. Over his first three seasons, Love wasn’t viewed as a starter in New York, often sitting behind the likes of Antoine Bethea, Jabrill Peppers, Logan Ryan, and Xavier McKinney. Still, he got a decent amount of playing time with at least five starts in each of those first three years and nabbing one interception in each of those years, as well.

In the final year of his rookie contract, Love finally earned a role as a full-time starter on the Giants defense. Love led the team with a career-high 124 tackles, earning other career highs in interceptions (two), tackles for loss (six), and sacks (one). His efforts earned him a spot in Seattle with a two-year, $12MM contract, despite beliefs in New York that Love would re-sign with the Giants.

Despite seeming to be a superfluous addition to a secondary that already rostered Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams, Love found new life in Seattle. In his first season with the Seahawks, Love started 12 games, filling in as an injury replacement for Adams at first, before becoming too crucial to the defense to keep off the field. Love was all over the field on defense, finishing second on the team with 123 tackles, while tallying career highs in interceptions (4) and passes defensed (10). With the releases of both Adams and Diggs, Love will take over alongside newly signed Rayshawn Jenkins as the top safety duo in Seattle this coming season.

Before his new deal, Love was expected to head into the final year of his two-year contract with a cap hit of $8.09MM. Love’s extension will likely lower that figure while rewarding the safety with a new signing bonus. Instead of dealing with free agency next offseason, the two parties will now be tied together through the 2027 NFL season.

Seahawks Rookie CB Devon Witherspoon Competing For Starting Role

June 7th, 2023 at 9:56pm CST by Ely Allen

The Seahawks return two starting cornerbacks next year in Michael Jackson and Tariq Woolen, as well as Coby Bryant, who started six games as the team’s primary nickel cornerback last year. Still, Seattle decided to draft Illinois’s Devon Witherspoon as the draft’s first cornerback off the board at No. 5 overall. Despite his high draft pedigree, Witherspoon will have to compete with the incumbent starters to establish his role as a rookie.

The team is currently running Witherspoon in the slot with two former college teammates out of Miami (FL) in Jackson and Artie Burns on the outside, according to Brady Henderson of ESPN. Burns is simply filling in for a currently injured Woolen, while Bryant has reportedly been sidelined lately, allowing Witherspoon more time in the slot early.

There are some early ideas out of workouts concerning how the depth chart might shape up. Henderson posits that the team may work with Witherspoon starting on the outside across from a healthy Woolen in base packages. When the defense needs to add an extra defensive back, Witherspoon will shift inside to the slot with Jackson replacing him on the outside.

His spot in the starting lineup isn’t guaranteed, though, as Henderson reports that Jackson is have a strong spring with regular dominant outings in 7-on-7. Jackson was a surprise for the Seahawks’ defense last year, starting every game despite only having appeared in four games in his first three seasons of NFL play before that. Playing alongside the rookies in what was perhaps the league’s least-experienced cornerbacks group, Jackson was third on the team with 75 total tackles, adding an interception, 12 passes defensed, two fumble recoveries, and a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown. If he continues to impress throughout the summer, it’s not out of the question that he may retain a starting role.

In that case, Witherspoon will likely start games at nickelback and rotate in when needed on the outside. In situations when a slot corner is needed while Witherspoon is outside, Seattle can go back to Bryant or even turn to safety Julian Love, who has experience working in the slot, as well. He hasn’t been working at the position much lately, though, as the team has opted to keep Love working at safety, in case Jamal Adams‘s return to the field takes longer than anticipated, but Love does have the requisite experience.

So for now, the depth chart appears to have Woolen and Witherspoon as the top outside options with Jackson and Burns behind them, though Jackson has a chance to retain his starting spot by continuing to impress. At the slot, Witherspoon should be the first option, moving out of his outside position, with Bryant and, potentially, Love behind him. The most experienced members of the position room, Burns and Love, are contributing as depth pieces in what is expected to continue being one of the youngest cornerbacks rooms in the league.

Giants Expected S Julian Love To Re-Sign

April 12th, 2023 at 12:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

Given their financial commitments at safety coming into free agency, the Seahawks made a surprising move by signing Julian Love to join Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs. The Giants appear to have been surprised as well.

Like they did with Saquon Barkley during what became a narrow in-season negotiation — during the bye week — the Giants made Love an offer believed to be worth more than the two-year, $12MM Seahawks pact Love signed. The Giants then submitted a second offer earlier this year, according to the New York Post’s Paul Schwartz, who notes this proposal was worth more than what the team offered midseason.

[RELATED: Barkley Not Planning To Show For Team Workouts]

When Love chose the Seahawks offer, Schwartz adds the Giants were somewhat surprised. They gave Bobby McCain a one-year deal worth $1.3MM, but the team may still be on the lookout for a safety starter to replace Love alongside Xavier McKinney.

“I think I’m a player on the rise and I’m young, so a lot of things were going for me, I felt. Then the market was tough for safeties, that’s just the reality,” Love said recently. “I wouldn’t have expected it, but it was what it was. When Seattle saw where I was at contract-wise, they jumped at the opportunity to bring me on, which is exciting and it makes you feel like you’re wanted in this process. There were a few teams down at the end, but I think the appeal of Seattle was too great for me to pass on.”

No numbers have emerged regarding the Giants’ midseason or offseason Love offers, but this year’s non-Jessie Bates safety market not producing any deals worth at least $8MM per year did not bode too well for Love, even after a strong contract year. The new Giants regime used the same timetable with Love and Saquon Barkley, making an initial fall offer before upping it slightly ahead of free agency. But Barkley ended up being franchise-tagged — the expected outcome in the event a Daniel Jones extension surfaced — and Love hit the market. When free agency opened, the sides were not close on terms; that led to the Seattle visit.

McKinney has missed chunks of two seasons — 2020 and ’22 — but looks to remain in New York’s long-term plans. The former second-round pick could rebound and command a nice raise with a quality contract year, and Schwartz notes the Giants were not going to have Love making more than McKinney on a long-term deal. McKinney is now extension-eligible, but it would make sense for the Alabama alum — considering the ATV accident that cost him seven games last season — to bet on himself raising his value in 2023.

As for Love, he now sits 28th for safety AAV. Vonn Bell, Jordan Poyer, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Donovan Wilson and Juan Thornhill checked in a bit higher on their offseason deals, but Bell’s three-year, $22.5MM Panthers pact was the closest any safety came to Bates’ four-year, $64MM Falcons windfall. Gardner-Johnson signed a one-year deal after turning down a multiyear Eagles offer, joining Love in perhaps overestimating this year’s safety market. Love is expected to play a regular role, regardless of Adams’ health, in Seattle; the Seahawks are planning to use Adams closer to the line of scrimmage more often in 2023.

The Giants have McCain, Dane Belton and Jason Pinnock under contract alongside McKinney. Love took over after the Giants cut Logan Ryan and let Jabrill Peppers walk in 2022. The team has higher priorities entering the draft, and while safety can be considered an auxiliary need, the Giants may rely on McCain or one of their younger holdovers to team with McKinney.

Load More Posts