Nick Emmanwori Passes Physical, Seahawks Place Robbie Ouzts on Injured Reserve

RENTON, Wash. - Checking off the criteria for a mixed bag of news dropping at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center on Tuesday, the Seattle Seahawks received positive injury news for one of their biggest stars while also losing an offensive starter for the season.

As officially announced by the team via their website, second-year safety Nick Emmanwori passed his physical on Tuesday morning, clearing a major hurdle three weeks after undergoing arthroscopic ankle surgery. Unfortunately, while the Defensive Rookie of the Year runner up from a year ago looks poised to be ready for Week 1, the team won’t have fullback Robbie Ouzts available at all in 2026 after placing him on season-ending injured reserve.

In a corresponding move to fill Ouzts’ spot on the 53-man roster, Seattle signed linebacker Aaron Smith, who spent last season with the New York Jets on the practice squad after going undrafted out of South Carolina.

Mere days before training camp started, Emmanwori landed on the Physically Unable to Perform list, which came as a surprise to many considering the defender participated in OTAs and mandatory minicamp in full. However, he still had some discomfort stemming from an ankle injury suffered during the week of the Super Bowl, leading to the decision made mutually by the team and player to do a clean up procedure before the season started.

While fans saw older footage of Emmanwori with a boot and using a scooter when he visited with coach Mike Macdonald on the first episode of HBO’s Hard Knocks, he shed the boot in the first week of camp and has made significant progress in the three weeks since having surgery. He has been walking briskly around the field in recent practices without a hitch in his step, a positive sign in his recovery.

Per Seattle’s announcement, Emmanwori has yet to be activated from the PUP list, but the team will be able to do so at any time. Once that happens, he will be cleared to return to the field and Seattle can begin the ramp up progress gearing him up for the regular season. It’s highly unlikely, if even improbable, that he will play any snaps in the preseason.

With Emmanwori still working his way back, D’Anthony Bell and rookies Bud Clark and Andre Fuller will continue taking snaps as the “big” nickel options for the Seahawks until the star returns.

Coming off a rookie season where he missed four games in the regular season with an ankle sprain and both the NFC Championship Game and Super Bowl with a neck injury, Ouzts was active throughout the offseason program and opened Seattle’s camp as a full participant for the first couple of practices, appearing to be healthy.

However, Ouzts has been sidelined since the fifth camp practice, which happened to be the first session in full pads with increased contact. Macdonald hasn’t provided much in terms of updates on him since that point, but his initial remarks on the fullback’s status had an ominous tone compared to his usual responses to injuries.

“Were going to try and find some more information with Robbie’s situation soon. I’ll just leave it at that right now,” Macdonald said. “We’ll have an update for you sooner than later.”

It remains unknown what injury led to Ouzts being ruled out for the year, but given the timing and decisiveness of the move, the Seahawks clearly view it as a significant one. If it is related to the neck issue that sidelined him at the end of the playoffs in January and February, then there will be plenty of questions about his long-term future beyond this season and whether or not he will be able to play again.

In the aftermath of Ouzts’ injury, Brady Russell will now be the full-time fullback for the Seahawks, a position he transitioned to last season after primarily playing tight end his first two years in the league. He logged 49 snaps in the backfield in 2025 and with new offensive coordinator Brian Fleury desiring more two-back personnel grouping usage than his predecessor Klint Kubiak, that number should be expected to skyrocket in 2026.

For depth purposes, the Seahawks proactively signed second-year fullback Brock Lampe, who played for current running backs coach Thomas Hammock at Northern Illinois. The 250-pound blocker spent his rookie season on injured reserve with the Patriots before being waived earlier in the spring and has now participated in four practices with his new team. He should see the bulk of the action at the position during preseason games.