‘Next Man Up’ Reaches New Threshold as Seahawks Head to Nation’s Capital With Short-Handed Safety Group

Every NFL team preaches the mantra “next man up,” but few teams actually execute the idea better than the Seattle Seahawks, who have built one of the strongest rosters in the league with an emphasis on the “Power of 70” through stockpiling and developing talent on the 53-man and practice squad.

Under the watch of coach Mike Macdonald and general manager John Schneider, the Seahawks have been able to consistently weather the storm when it comes to injuries, including benefiting from the presence of an experienced, proven backup quarterback in Drew Lock in the first two weeks of the 2026 season. Injuries have been especially problematic at the safety spot, where rookie Bud Clark suffered a season-ending broken ankle in the preseason, Nick Emmanwori missed the first game recovering from offseason ankle surgery, and Ty Okada has sat out the first two games with a hamstring injury, but veteran Rodney Thomas II more than picked up the slack as the team raced out to a 2-0 start.

But with Okada still not ready to return and star safety Julian Love ruled out with a new calf injury suffered in Thursday’s practice, even with Emmanwori slated to see an uptick in snaps after playing nine defensive plays in his season debut last weekend, the Seahawks will have their depth tested even further against the Commanders on the road on Sunday. Down both of their projected starters on the back end, Thomas will have to take on a far bigger role as a communicator in the secondary, and Macdonald may have to deploy a by-committee approach at the other spot with the team now down to third and potentially fourth-string players trying to step up.