Seahawks To Activate Dion Jordan This Week
Dion Jordan will be activated to 53-man roster this week, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll tells reporters (Twitter link via Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times). Carroll added that the defensive end is “ready” to play. 
It’s a big step forward for the former No. 3 overall pick in the draft. Thanks to suspensions, knee injuries, and a host of other issues along the way, Jordan has not played in a game since December 28, 2014. His return to football is more than just a feel-good story for the Seahawks, however, given their defensive line issues throughout the season.
Through 26 games in 2013 and 2014, Jordan registered only 46 tackles and three sacks. He may never realize his massive potential in the NFL, but the Seahawks were optimistic enough to give him a low-risk, one-year deal in April. Jordan now has an opportunity to reward Seattle’s faith in him and potentially set himself up for a lucrative contract in March.
If all goes according to plan, Jordan will make his on-field return on Thursday night against the Cardinals.
Seahawks Hoping to Re-Sign Battle to Practice Squad
- Speaking of amazing recoveries, Teddy Bridgewater is on track to return to the gridiron after many months of rehab and uncertainty regarding his serious knee injury. The Vikings former first round pick is expected to be activated and in uniform for the team’s Week 10 contest versus Washington, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports. Bridgewater was placed on the PUP list at the start of the regular season after he had been recovering from an injury he suffered back in training camp two years ago. It’s been a long road for the soon-to-be 25 year-old, but it looks like the quarterback’s resiliency will soon pay off. Although, it remains to be seen what role Bridgewater will have when he returns, especially with the recent solid play of third string QB Case Keenum. Bridgewater last played in the team’s heartbreaking playoff defeat at the hands of the Seahawks back in 2015.
- The Seahawks cut tackle Isaiah Battle a few days ago after the team added the highly regarded Duane Brown prior to the trade deadline. However, it seems like Seattle would like to retain the offensive lineman as general manager John Schneider said on a pre-game show that he hopes to re-sign the 24 year-old to the team’s practice squad this week, reports Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (Twitter link).
Updates on Injuries and Duane Brown
- The Seahawks are in a tough spot with injuries heading into this week’s contest against Washington. Apart from Earl Thomas potentially missing a few games, the team also may be without defensive starters Sheldon Richardson (oblique) and Bobby Wagner (hamstring) with both players being officially listed as questionable, according to Brady Anderson of ESPN.com. Anderson does report that safety Kam Chancellor will play in Week 9 after dealing with an ankle injury throughout the week. However, losing these three key defensive starters would greatly hurt a Seattle team that is riding a ton of positive momentum after winning their last four games.
- Anderson also passes along that Seattle’s newest trade acquisition, tackle Duane Brown, is adjusting to his new team’s offense well because of his experience with the Seahawks zone-blocking scheme, according to head coach Pete Carroll. “He’s done exceptionally well,” Carroll said. “Like we said earlier, the carry-over that he had from six years being in the same system has really ensured that he can make this transition as fast as you possibly could make it.” Brown figures to be a major upgrade at left tackle ahead of the team’s former starter on the blind side, Rees Odhiambo, who ranks as the worst qualified tackle in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus.
Seahawks’ Earl Thomas Could Miss Games
The Seahawks have ruled out safety Earl Thomas for Sunday’s game against the Redskins, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The injury may result in a multi-game absence. 
Thomas’ hamstring forced him out of action during last week’s contest against the Texans. Losing him for an extended period will hurt the Seahawks, not just because he is a defensive leader, but because he is among the league’s very best safeties. So far this season, Thomas is the No. 8 ranked safety in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus. He’s regularly placed in PFF’s top ten, but his 87.6 score for this year actually represents a career watermark.
For now, Thomas will be replaced in the starting lineup by Bradley McDougald. Given that he started 31 games at safety over the past two seasons with the Bucs, the Seahawks can comfortably stick with what they have in-house for the time being.
After Sunday’s game against Washington, the Seahawks have a short week before facing the Cardinals on Thursday night. If Thomas can’t make a quick recovery, he might not see the field again until Seattle’s post-bye matchup against the Falcons on Nov. 20.
Latest On Colin Kaepernick
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and Texans owner Bob McNair, amongst others, will be deposed and asked to turn over all cell phone records and emails in relation to the Colin Kaepernick collusion case against the NFL, a league source tells ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (Facebook link). Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and owner 49ers Jed York are also among those on the deposition list, Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link) hears.
Other owners, team officials, and league officials may also be deposed, but those are the individuals confirmed for now.
Here’s more on Kaepernick:
- Colin Kaepernick’s attorney believes that the quarterback will sign with an NFL team soon. “I think within the next 10 days somebody will sign him,” Mark Geragos told Adam Carolla earlier this week (transcript via BleacherReport.com). “I think somebody’s gonna sign him. I think the NFL has to come to their senses, and realize every day that goes by just proves the collusion case even more.” Geragos may have confidence, but there’s no reason to expect a Kaepernick signing anytime soon. A potential spot opened up this week when Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson suffered a season-ending ACL tear, but Houston opted to sign Matt McGloin and T.J. Yates. For now, Tom Savage is the starter in Houston and there are no known plans for the team to audition Kaepernick.
- NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart deferred to the NFLPA on the topic of having Kaepernick at the next meeting between players and owners (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). “We’d welcome his participation, but that’s an issue for the players to determine,” he said.
Seahawks To Give Eddie Lacy More Work
- On the brink of a second straight trip through free agency, it sounds like Eddie Lacy is going to get an opportunity to showcase his stuff. In the second half of the season, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and offensive line coach Tom Cable say that they will try to make Lacy the team’s true No. 1 tailback. “We’ve always tried to do that (establish one running back),” Cable said (via Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times). “So maybe we have gotten lost in ourselves a little bit, too. But yes, we want to get cleaner blocking first and foremost, and get a runner established.” So far this season, Lacy has 108 yards on 42 carries, giving him a career-low 2.6 yards per carry average. Lacy is playing on a one-year deal with Seattle worth up to $4.25MM.
Seahawks Waive OL Isaiah Battle
The Seahawks have waived offensive lineman Isaiah Battle, according to Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times (on Twitter). The move will make room on the 53-man roster for newly acquired tackle Duane Brown. 
The Seahawks acquired Battle in an early September trade with the Seahawks. Although Seattle reserved a 53-man roster spot for him at the time, he did not see live action in his seven weeks with the team.
Battle, a 6’7″ lineman out of Clemson, first entered the league as a fifth-round pick of the Rams in the 2015 supplemental draft. Coming out of college, Battle drew comparisons to Alabama product D.J. Fluker, a first-round pick in the 2013 draft. At the same time, teams were worried about his off-the-field issues.
He’ll try to put it all together for another NFL team. Because he is not a vested veteran, he will be subject to the waiver wire. If he is not claimed by one of the league’s 31 other teams in the next 24 hours, he will be a free agent. If that happens, he could be a candidate for the Seahawks’ practice squad.
Eagles, Seahawks Had Interest In Frank Gore
Both the Eagles and Seahawks expressed some level of interest in Colts running back Frank Gore prior to the trade deadline, according to Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star.
The Colts had reportedly been gauging interest in the 34-year-old Gore this week, and two mystery teams had engaged in talks. Philadelphia and Seattle appear to be those two clubs, although no deal ever came to fruition. Gore — and the rest of his $3.5MM base salary — will remain on Indianapolis’ roster, although he’ll presumably lose time to rookie Marlon Mack as the season progresses.
The Eagles were clearly eyeing running backs in advance of the trade deadline, and ultimately shipped a 2018 fourth-round pick to the Dolphins in exchange for Jay Ajayi. But before acquiring Ajayi — who is a decade younger than Gore — Philadelphia spoke about picking up the veteran Indy back. This isn’t the first time Gore has been linked to the Eagles in recent years, as he nearly signed with the Birds as a free agent in 2015.
Seattle, meanwhile, has four running backs on its current roster, but none of Thomas Rawls, Eddie Lacy, C.J. Prosise, or J.D. McKissic has been successful this season. The Seahawks rank 19th in rushing DVOA and 24th in yards per attempt, and the club’s backs finished with negative yards rushing in Sunday’s victory over the Texans. But Seattle will hope that its acquisition of left tackle Duane Brown will aid its lackluster run game more than a Gore addition would have.
Jeremy Lane Fails Texans Physical
Cornerback Jeremy Lane — who was one piece of the Texans’ return for offensive tackle Duane Brown — has failed his physical with Houston, according to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). As such, the 2018 fifth-round pick that was originally sent from the Seahawks to the Texans will become a 2018 third-rounder, while Seattle will also acquire a 2018 fifth-round pick, per McClain.
In sum, the trade now breaks down as follows:
Seahawks acquire:
- T Duane Brown
- 2018 fifth-round pick
Texans acquire:
- 2018 third-round pick
- 2019 second-round pick
Lane, who is dealing with a leg injury, will head back to Seattle, where he recently lost his starting role to rookie Shaquill Griffin. He’ll presumably continue to rehab and work to regain playing time, as there’s no chance of him being shipped elsewhere now that the trade deadline has passed.
Seattle will re-assume the remainder of Lane’s $4MM base salary, a problem given the club’s lack of cap space. Dealing Lane was theoretically centered around the idea of ridding his salary, so the Seahawks’ decision to restructure quarterback Russell Wilson‘s contract in order to create financial breathing room appears even more necessary.
Seahawks QB Russell Wilson Reworks Contract
Russell Wilson is a team player. This week, the quarterback reworked his contract to accommodate the Seahawks’ acquisition of Duane Brown, according to Andrew Brandt of The MMQB (on Twitter). 
Wilson, 29 in November, is midway through a four-year contract extension signed in July of 2015. By converting some of his current year salary into a bonus, he gave the Seahawks enough breathing room to give him the type of dominant left tackle he has been pushing for.
Wilson’s $87.6MM deal runs through the 2019 season. The QB carries a $14.626MM cap charge this year before it balloons to $23.8MM in 2018 and $25.3MM in 2019.
Despite a suspect offensive line, Wilson has thrown for more than 2,000 yards with 15 touchdowns against four interceptions in seven games. With some improved protection from Brown, Seattle’s offense could take another step forward in the second half.