Mike Morris

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

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 RB Kenneth Walker Back For Week 4

Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker was off to a hot start in Week 1 with 103 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries before leaving the game with an oblique injury. He’s been out ever since, but according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the third-year rusher will make his return to the field in Week 4.

Since Walker’s departure, Zach Charbonnet has stepped in as the lead back in Seattle. He struggled in his first start of the season, amassing only 38 rushing yards on 14 carries but saved the performance with a touchdown, as well as five catches for 31 yards through the air. Last week, he showed RB1 potential with a 91-yard, two-touchdown performance.

While Walker is returning to the field, it might be in the Seahawks’ best interest to slow-play his comeback. The team will obviously want to get Walker involved in the offense, but if they feel confident with the body of work Charbonnet has put forth thus far, they may continue to give Charbonnet a good number of carries until they’re certain Walker is 100 percent.

Walker’s return is obviously good news, but unfortunately, it comes alongside the announcement that four defensive players will be unavailable this coming Monday. Per Brady Henderson of ESPN, defensive tackles Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy and outside linebackers Uchenna Nwosu and Boye Mafe have all been ruled out for Week 4. Williams, Nwosu, and Mafe have been starters so far this year, while Murphy has played a strong rotational role on the line.

Nwosu has missed Seattle’s first three games with an MCL sprain and is not yet ready to come back. The other three all suffered injuries in last week’s matchup with the Dolphins. Murphy suffered a hamstring injury, Williams hurt his ribs, and Mafe aggravated a previous knee issue. The Seahawks will attempt to use Mike Morris and Myles Adams to fill the holes on the line, while Derick Hall and Dre’Mont Jones should fill in at outside linebacker.

Seahawks DL Mike Morris Out For Season; CB Riq Woolen Likely To Miss Time

The Seahawks will be without one of their rookies the rest of the way. They placed Mike Morris on IR today, and while that is no longer an automatic season-ending transaction, it will be in the rookie defensive lineman’s case.

Morris will need season-ending shoulder surgery, Pete Carroll said (via ESPN’s Brady Henderson). A fifth-round pick out of Michigan, Morris played 26 defensive snaps in Seattle’s Week 1 game. He was inactive in Week 2. Brought in as part of a D-line overhaul, Morris made three tackles against the Rams. Last season at Michigan, the 6-foot-6 pass rusher totaled 7.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss.

Of the six defensive linemen who began the day on the Seahawks’ active roster, only one — backup Myles Adams — was with the team last season. Seattle brought in Dre’Mont Jones and Mario Edwards and reunited with Jarran Reed this offseason. A round before selecting Morris, the Seahawks chose Mississippi State’s Cameron Young. Bryan Mone remains with the Seahawks, but the veteran D-lineman is on the team’s reserve/PUP list.

Seattle won last week despite playing without both its starting tackles, but the team also squeaked past Detroit with top cornerback Riq Woolen leaving the game due to a chest injury. The issue will likely sideline Woolen for Week 3, Carroll added, though the 14th-year coach indicated the second-year starter’s issue is likely not serious enough for an IR move to enter the equation. The Seahawks, who also began the season without No. 5 overall pick Devon Witherspoon, promoted veteran cornerback Artie Burns from their practice squad Tuesday.

Additionally, the Seahawks waived linebacker Tyreke Smith on Wednesday. A 2022 fifth-rounder out of Ohio State, Smith has played in one regular-season game. He missed last season due to injury. The team also plans to sign tight end Brady Russell off the Eagles’ practice squad, The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar tweets. Russell is a rookie UDFA out of Colorado. Will Dissly is battling a shoulder injury, leading to the expected P-squad poaching. Because the Seahawks plan to sign Russell from the Eagles’ practice squad, he must remain on their active roster for three weeks.

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/9/23

Teams are moving quickly on inking their Day 3 draftees to their four-year rookie deals, with this process involving a slot system that does not feature many complications for late-round players. Here are the latest such agreements to commence:

Cincinnati Bengals

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

  • OL Colby Sorsdal (fifth round, William & Mary)

Jacksonville Jaguars

New England Patriots

Seattle Seahawks

An additional quintet of fifth-round picks is now under contract. Last year, the slot system pegged Round 5’s contracts between $4.1MM and $3.9MM over four years, with full guarantees ranging from $361K to $243K.

Brown finished his Fighting Illini tenure with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, including a 1,643-yard slate as a senior. He joins a Bengals team that did not outbid the Broncos for Samaje Perine and had been expected to ask Joe Mixon for a pay cut. Post-draft, Zac Taylor issued a vote of confidence for Mixon to be back. Abdullah combined to tally 19.5 sacks and 31 tackles for loss during his final two seasons at Louisville.