Field Gulls
The Seattle Seahawks placed their starting center, Jalen Sundell, on injured reserve in a trio of roster moves on Saturday.
Sundell exited last week’s game against the Arizona Cardinals with a knee injury and did not participate in practice this week. Seattle was planning to be without Sundell for their pivotal NFC matchup with the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, but they won’t be able to get him back until at least Week 15.
Olu Oluwatimi will be stepping in to replace Sundell against the Rams, Tennessee Titans, Minnesota Vikings and Atlanta Falcons.
With the open roster spot, the Seahawks activated guard Christian Haynes, their third-round draft pick from a year ago. The UConn graduate has been on IR since the beginning of the season with a pectoral issue that he struggled to fight off during training camp.
During camp, Haynes was a part of the right guard competition and a three-way battle for the starting center position and should provide needed quality depth behind Oluwatimi. Without activating Haynes, Seattle would have been left with only rookie guard Bryce Cabeldue behind Oluwatimi, which could have played a role in Sundell heading to IR.
While Haynes was a celebrated selection by the Seahawks in 2024, he’s struggled to find a consistent role up front.
The Seahawks are once again elevating linebacker Patrick O’Connell from the practice squad ahead of the Rams game. O’Connell has been a key rotational piece for the Seahawks for the last three seasons and totaled four tackles in limited snaps against the Cardinals last week. He’ll be the only practice squad elevation this week.
The former Montana star will serve as added depth for a linebacker group set to get star Ernest Jones IV back after he missed out on the Seahawks’ blowout of the Cardinals a week ago.
