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The Seahawks will place Zach Miller on the injured reserve, Pete Carroll announced today during his mid-week presser. Miller had originally hoped to miss anywhere from six to eight weeks, conservatively, but did not respond well to treatment on the surgery to remove bone spurs from his ankle.
Obviously, this is a big hit to Seattle's offense. Miller has been a key component in the run game as an excellent blocking tight end, plays a big role in pass protection as a great in-line pass blocker, and has always had very dependable hands in the pass game, something that's become more appreciated as of late with some drops and/or missed chances from backup tight ends these past few weeks. Pete Carroll said the loss of Miller doesn't change the run-pass ratio they're able to sustain, but they now have to use multiple players to play the role that Miller could do alone.
The Seahawks signed Rashaun Allen from the Vikings practice squad to replace Miller on the roster, as I'd surmised may happen yesterday. Allen is the fourth tight end on the roster now, and will play a depth role behind Luke Willson, Cooper Helfet, and Tony Moeaki. Moeaki is the x-factor at the position, and now that he's up to speed with the offense, it will be interesting to see how he's used this week and how frequently he sees the field.
Miller becomes the twelfth player the Seahawks have had to put on the injured reserve, a list that includes three major starters and several key backups:
NT1 Brandon Mebane 6'1, 305
TE1 Zach Miller 6'5, 255
FB1 Derrick Coleman 6'0, 240
3T/NT Greg Scruggs 6'3, 310
LB Heath Farwell 6'0, 235
C/G Stephen Schilling 6'5,312
TE2 Anthony McCoy 6'5, 275
DE/TE Cassius Marsh 6'4, 265
3T/NT Jesse Williams 6'3, 320
LB Mike Taylor 6'2, 222
3T D'Anthony Smith 6'2, 300
WR David Gilreath 5'10, 170
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Also of note, the Seahawks signed Allen Bradford to the active roster and will play him on defense. The former USC Trojans running back moved to linebacker when he was claimed by the Seahawks in 2013 but then ended up in New York after being waived by Seattle. He also spent time in Jacksonville and Cleveland.
He impressed in his time here, though, and I distinctly remember Ken Norton say something about Bradford that stuck with me. Said Norton, "He's got a lot of ... stuff in him; that stuff that you want linebackers to have. They just show up with bad intentions."