Seahawks Undergo Significant Week 13 Roster Transformation With Eyes on Playoff Chase
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Minnesota Vikings quarterback Max Brosmer (12) hands off to running back Cam Akers (31) in the fourth quarter of the NFL Week 3 game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Cincinnati Bengals. Credit: Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images [/caption]
RENTON, Wash. - While it may be Thanksgiving eve across the nation, one could be mistaken for wondering if they went back in time to the end of the preseason in August given the number of moves the Seattle Seahawks made to their active roster and practice squad on Wednesday.
Headlined by the return of popular safety Quandre Diggs, who re-signed with Seattle’s practice squad as insurance for a depleted defensive backfield now missing Julian Love and Ty Okada for the time being, as well as the signing veteran running back Cam Akers and elevating cornerback Shaq Griffin and linebacker Patrick O’Connell to the 53-man roster, the team orchestrated a total of six moves on the roster and practice squad leading up to Sunday’s home tilt against Minnesota.
Additionally, cornerback Derion Kendrick was waived, linebacker Chazz Surratt landed on injured reserve, and two other players were added to the practice squad, capping off a busy day at the VMAC.
This time of year, it can be incredibly difficult to get newcomers up to speed, as they don’t have the benefit of weeks of training camp practices and have to take a crash course on offense, defense, and/or special teams mere days before they may be called upon to suit up for a game. In many cases, signings to the practice squad in the middle of a season have more to do with scheme fit and past connections than simply talent.
Fortunately, benefiting from new practice squad rules that allow expanded rosters and room to add experienced veterans to the mix, the Seahawks shouldn’t have any transition issues with Diggs, an 11-year veteran who made three Pro Bowls with the franchise from 2020 to 2022 and developed a brief relationship with coach Mike Macdonald before being released as a cap casualty in March 2024.
Already seeing Diggs barking out correct calls on the practice field during a walkthrough on Wednesday while playing alongside players such as cornerbacks Devon Witherspoon and safety Coby Bryant who he has gone to battle with in the past, Macdonald loves that Seattle had the good fortunate of being able to bring back a respected veteran with injuries piling up at the position.
“It’s pretty cool because him and I talked when we first got here last year and had a great conversation. And obviously things worked out the way they did. Excited for him to be back,” Macdonald told reporters prior to Wednesday’s practice. “I know the building's really excited. I think he's excited. I know a lot of our guys are really fired up. So just see how it goes, but we're just doing a walk-through and he's spitting out calls. We'll see how it shakes out. But excited to see him practice today.”
As Macdonald noted, unlike some veteran signings this time of year where players are signed right off the street and have to get back up to speed physically along with learning a new playbook, Diggs asked for his release from the Titans earlier this month and has been in action recently. Just 19 days removed from that transaction, he’s still in game shape and fully healthy after appearing in Tennessee’s first nine games, where he produced 30 tackles and a pass breakup.
Making Diggs even more appealing for the Seahawks to reunite with on short notice, the savvy veteran ball hawk recently played in a similar defensive scheme with the Titans under coordinator Dennard Wilson, which should further expedite his acclimation process in familiar surroundings linking up with Macdonald for the first time on the field.
“You're looking at similar things with E.J. [Ernest Jones] last year. And he's been, you know, doing it a while at a high level,” Macdonald said. ”We're not doing anything he's never heard of.”
Time will tell whether or not the Seahawks will need to call on Diggs as early as Sunday against the Vikings, and normally such a quick turnaround would be a major challenge for any player to take on. But Jones did it last year, starting a game four days after arriving in the Pacific Northwest, and Diggs’ relationship with several members of the secondary should make it a natural adjustment, even if the calls aren’t the same ones he has had in the past verbiage-wise.
Utilized in nickel and dime packages as a replacement for Love and Okada, who both likely will be out at least one more week, Diggs has played every scheme as a free safety, which should set him up for being able to jump right in as a situational reserve if Seattle has to turn to him right away.
Much like Diggs, while Akers hasn’t played for offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, he spent multiple seasons with the Rams and Vikings playing in similar offenses called by head coaches Sean McVay and Kevin O’Connell. The former second round pick out of Florida State has rushed for 2,044 yards and 13 touchdowns in his career and helped Los Angeles win the Super Bowl in 2021, coming back from an Achilles injury to shine in the playoffs.
A reliable runner who can also contribute in the passing game, Macdonald expects the 26-year-old Akers to be able to step right in and play with George Holani now battling a hamstring injury that could sideline him for a few weeks.
“A lot of respect for Cam, has a lot of relationships with him from prior stops,” Macdonald said. “System familiar to ours. Expect him to step right in and do a great job.”
As for the moves made at cornerback, Kendrick’s departure may seem like an odd one on the surface. Claimed off waivers from Los Angeles, the veteran defender did a fine job replacing Witherspoon at slot cornerback earlier in the season, intercepting a pair of passes in Week 2 and Week 3 wins over Pittsburgh and New Orleans.
But Kendrick had largely been phased out of Seattle’s defensive rotation since rookie Nick Emmanwori came back from an ankle sprain in Week 5, and Witherspoon’s eventual return from injury relegated him strictly to special teams with both of those players seeing all of the snaps in the slot. Though Macdonald didn’t call him out by name after Sunday’s win in Tennessee, he cited the gunner as being at fault for Chimere Dike’s 90-yard punt return for a touchdown, failing to keep his outside shoulder free and losing contain of the edge.
Apparently, the Seahawks weren’t pleased with Kendrick’s efforts in the third phase of the game, and that massive mistake led to a pink slip and Griffin’s subsequent signing onto the active roster as a depth replacement.
The decision to sign O’Connell to the roster should come as far less of a surprise. Even with Tyrice Knight expected back to practice this week after a week in concussion protocol, Jones still has been gradually ramping back up from a knee injury that led to him sitting out two of the past three games, with Macdonald indicating that he wasn’t “out of the woods” yet on that front and his status would be further evaluated this week.
Additionally, O’Connell exhausted his three practice squad game day elevations on Sunday, making it that Seattle had no choice but to sign him to the 53-man roster if the team wanted to have him available on Sunday. Considering injuries to special teams standouts George Holani and Surratt, his presence in that capacity will be needed for a group that has become thin depth-wise the past few games while serving as the primary backup behind Drake Thomas and Knight if Jones can’t return this week.
Regardless of what role he needs to play, as the former Montana standout keeps coming back for more despite facing plenty of adversity being cut multiple times in his NFL career, Macdonald has no shortage in confidence in the “steadfast” O’Connell moving forward after he recorded eight tackles and his first career sack starting against the Titans last weekend.
“He's a guy that's always been available. He takes a ton of reps. He practices 100 miles an hour all the time. Nobody's perfect in those moments, but as a coach you respect the effort and the competitor,” Macdonald said. “And the guy keeps coming back after he's gotten into some situations where he's got not really the best news that reflects the effort that he's put forward, which is a tough situation. When you play well enough to be on an NFL team and you don't make the team, that's a hard thing to do. And so it speaks a lot for him to go back and just keep attacking it like he did. That's why you're so happy for him.”
In the dog days of November and December, the teams that emerge as contenders in January have to be able to withstand injuries that are bound to happen in the NFL, whether through development of players on the practice squad or connections with reliable veterans such as Diggs who can come onboard and pinch hit at a high level when needed.
Continuing to preach the “Power of 70” in regard to the active roster and practice squad, Macdonald hopes he and general manager John Schneider can keep pushing the right buttons even as attrition sets in at multiple positions, most notably safety. Starting with Sunday’s game, the Seahawks will very much be in playoff mode from here on out, and to achieve their goals, those moves filling the roster will be ever so important in regard to stacking more wins and staying in both the NFC and NFC West hunt.
