Seahawks promote B.J. Daniels to 53; other news and notes

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll spoke at the podium this afternoon and had a few updates for NFC Championship Week.

- B.J. Daniels gets promoted

Seattle's scout team/practice squad quarterback B.J. Daniels has been promoted to the active roster as Seattle sends Paul Richardson to the injured reserve. Carroll said that Daniels is the Seahawks' third quarterback, a backup returner, and can play receiver and running back for Seattle. Obviously, his versatility is paying off. Daniels was a dual-threat athlete at South Florida so it's not surprising the Hawks want to potentially utilize his somewhat unique skillset, both in carrying the ball and catching it.

"He's going to help us in a number of spots," Carroll said. "Of course he's a the third quarterback, but we'll see this week how he works to fit in on special teams. He's a backup returner for us, he can play running back and wide receiver as well. He's been doing that all year, so he's a very versatile guy for us to bring to life right now."

Assuming Daniels is active, at the very least I'd expect to see him get some action on special teams and the Hawks may throw him out there for a few plays just to make sure the Packers have prepared for the wide-receiver throw option he brings. At 5'11, 217 or so, he's a good sized athlete, and the Seahawks have been paying him as a regular member of the 53-man roster for several months.

- Paul Richardson's knee is bad

Pete Carroll mentioned that Paul Richardson's knee injury "is a complicated issue" and that it's not just a clean ACL tear. They're still waiting to see what the best course of action is to fix him up.

This is obviously terrible news, and it's the same knee that Richardson hurt in 2012 -- an injury that kept him off the football field for a calendar year. P-Rich has a chance to come back next season around the mid-way point, but for a position predicated on quickness and explosion, the rational expectation would be to not expect him to contribute in a major way until the 2016 season. Pretty devastating.

- Kevin Norwood will step into Richardson's role

In Richardson's place, fellow rookie Kevin Norwood will get a chance to get more action. Norwood has been impressive this year -- he's a different style of receiver than Richardson, but it will be cool to see how he is utilized and how he plays in this week's game.

- Seahawks now have 19 players on IR/NFI

With Paul Richardson heading to the IR, the Seahawks now have 19 players on the three injured reserve lists (IR, Practice Squad IR, and Non-Football/Illness). The major hits have been Brandon Mebane, Jordan Hill, Zach Miller, and of course Paul Richardson, but guys like Derrick Coleman, Kevin Pierre-Louis, Greg Scruggs, Anthony McCoy, and Cassius Marsh were expected to be, or were, key role players.

- Tony Moeaki will practice this week

The Seahawks get a little bit of depth back at tight end this week as it's expected that Tony Moeaki will practice. The versatile pass catcher has been battling a calf injury.

- Take it slow with Jeron Johnson

The Seahawks will bring Jeron Johnson back slowly, said Carroll, but he'll have a chance to practice this week. He dislocated his elbow against the Rams.

- Sounds like Byron Maxwell is okay

Carroll said that Byron Maxwell has had issues with chest congestion/pneumonia in the past and that's what's been bugging him of late. He said Maxy couldn't breathe properly and that's why they just had him playing the one-off special teams plays this week. Carroll added that he spoke with Maxwell this morning and that he seemed to be doing much better. I'd expect Maxwell to play this week, personally.

- Max Unger should be good to go

Max Unger went out with an ankle injury in the closing minutes of Saturday's game but it sounds like it was just a scare. Pete Carroll said that Unger initially thought that he had aggravated his high ankle injury that kept him out for a few months this season, but he is feeling good going into this week. Again, barring a setback, he should be okay to play on Sunday.

- Seahawks' development strategy is pretty interesting

The Seahawks take a lot of pride in developing their young players and while their draft picks at the receiver position haven't paid off as much as you'd like (Chris Harper, Kris Durham, plus Percy Harvin), their undrafted players have really played above and beyond what you'd expect. In fact, if you just take a look at the skill position weapons that Seattle's heavily utilized on offense this year, it's pretty shocking to see where and how the Seahawks acquired them. Here's how the depth chart stands right now:

WR1 - Doug Baldwin (UDFA)
WR2 - Jermaine Kearse (UDFA)
WR3 - Kevin Norwood (4th round pick)
WR4 - Ricardo Lockette (waiver-wire pickup)
WR5 - Bryan Walters (street free agent)
WR6 - Chris Matthews (CFL free agent)
WR7 - B.J. Daniels (waiver-wire pickup)

TE1 - Luke Willson (5th round pick)
TE2 - Cooper Helfet (UDFA)
TE3 - Tony Moeaki (street free agent)

RB1 - Marshawn Lynch (trade 5th round pick)
RB2 - Robert Turbin (4th round pick)
RB3 - Christine Michael (2nd round pick)

FB1 - Will Tukuafu (street free agent)

Pretty crazy.