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The Seahawks' defensive line rotation, particularly their nickel package personnel groupings, takes a big hit today as the team has placed DT/DE Jason Jones on the injured reserve. Taking his place on the active roster is DT Hebron Fangupo, who has been on the practice squad for the last couple of months.
On the season, Jones had three sacks and 11 tackles, four tipped passes, a fumble recovery and three QB hits. He did a pretty decent job of bringing pressure from the interior and opened up a lot of opportunities for players on the outside, namely Chris Clemons and Bruce Irvin, to get to the quarterback. Jones heads to the I.R. for the final two games and the playoffs, if Seattle cliches a spot, and will become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
My guess is that Greg Scruggs will now get a little more playing time at 3-technique in passing situations, so that will certainly be an interesting development to watch. Scruggs has two sacks on the year in limited playing time, but has shown some nice explosion in pass rushing and has a nice club move to utilize against offensive guards. Naturally, the Seahawks will now face off against a team with undoubtedly the best offensive line in football.
Hebron Fangupo is a 6'3, 319 pound DT out of USC & BYU. He went to the Texans as an undrafted free agent but failed to catch on there. He was reunited with Carroll earlier this season as a practice squad addition. The Seahawks also signed Bryan Walters, a 6'1, 190lb WR out of Cornell, to their practice squad. He was signed by Chargers as an UDFA after the 2010 Draft. He was a dynamic WR/KR for Cornell, and his final year there, he finished 5th in nation all-purpose yards per game (171.6).
Seattle now has three WRs on their P.S., with Walters joining Phil Bates & Corbin Louks. Linebackers Allen Bradford & Kyle Knox (signed yesterday), RB Derrick Coleman, DE Monte Taylor (signed this week), and CB Chandler Fenner round out the 8-man squad.