As if losing safety Bud Clark, wide receiver Jake Bobo, and offensive lineman Mason Richman for the season wasn’t enough, the Seattle Seahawks are set to be without a starting safety and possibly two more key contributors in Wednesday’s home opener against the New England Patriots.
Out:
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Questionable:
While it’s unknown when and how Okada suffered the hamstring injury, his absence from practice on both Sunday and Monday seemingly indicated he wasn’t trending toward suiting up in Week 1. Now knowing for certain he’ll be sidelined, there’s little doubt Seattle will turn to the practice squad for game day elevations.
However, Emmanwori’s status is cetainly a surprise, and could prevent the Seahawks from having to elevate more than one safety come tomorrow. After undergoing ankle surgery in July, his status for Week 1 was up in the air.
On August 30, ESPN’s Brady Henderson reported the second-year’s odds of returning for the start of the regular season were ‘iffy,’ but after practicing in full pads on Sunday, it appears he has a realistic chance of suiting up—at a much needed time.
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The team’s decision to keep just three safeties on the active roster (Julian Love, Nick Emmanwori and Ty Okada) was questionable at the time but even if Emmanwori is ultimately ruled out, they’ll have a big pool to choose from, with four waiting in the wings on the practice squad.
After appearing in 14 games with Seattle last season where he served as a reliable depth piece, D’Anthony Bell, who signed on September 5, would be the obvious choice. The Seahawks also have Rodney Thomas II, Maxen Hook and AJ Finley to choose from.
On the other side of the ball, it’s been difficult to know what to make of Horton, especially after head coach Mike Macdonald said he’d miss a “period of time” in his press conference on August 21. However, the second-year wideout practiced in a limited capacity all week and appears to be on track towards an early season return, if not on Wednesday. Should he be sidelined, look for Rashid Shaheed to see more targets downfield.
As for the Patriots, center Ben Brown (knee) and running back TreVeyon Henderson (ankle) were ruled out, leaving Rhamondre Stevenson the opportunity to dominate carries against one of the best defenses in the NFL.
Both teams will release their official inactives at 3:50 pm P.T. on Wednesday.
