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Could John Ursua be active against the Browns?

Oakland Raiders v Seattle Seahawks Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

The Seattle Seahawks offensive line is beat up heading into the Week 6 game against the Cleveland Browns, with both left tackle Duane Brown and right guard D.J. Fluker listed as doubtful on the Friday injury report. Add in that third year lineman Ethan Pocic was placed on injured reserve on Friday, and the group could be without three of five Week 1 starters.

If Brown and Fluker are indeed both inactive for the game Sunday, then it would appear that the only depth the team will have at the offensive line position will be Joey Hunt and Jordan Roos. Hunt and Roos are similar in that both are a bit undersized, but are technicians that make up for their shorter arms with pop. Hunt did a ridiculous 34 reps on the bench at his pro day back in 2016, while Roos lifted the bar an even more ridiculous 41 times at his pro day the next year.

In any case, when it comes to the inactives on Sunday, Pete Carroll hinted earlier this week that Brandon Jackson may be inactive this week in favor of L.J. Collier, while Akeem King and Marquise Blair seem likely to be healthy scratches once against due to the depth at their position groups. Gary Jennings, who has been inactive for all five games so far this season seems like a shoo in for the sixth inactive spot.

Thus, the last inactive spot seems to come down to a decision between rookie John Ursua and newly promoted from the practice squad Jacob Hollister. With George Fant likely to start at left tackle in place of Brown, the Hawks may want Hollister as a third tight end. However, in the final two games of 2018 when Fant started at right tackle, the Seahawks used Hunt a handful of times in their jumbo tight end package. Thus, since it seems all but certain that Hunt will be active against Cleveland, will the Hawks be in need of a third tight end, especially one that isn’t all that known for his blocking?

If the Hawks decide that Hunt is who they’ll be calling on as their sixth offensive linemen, then Hollister’s services may not be necessary, and Seattle may keep Ursua active. Now, that doesn’t guarantee that Ursua will see much playing time or even get a ball thrown his way, however, it would mark the second time this season he’s been active, something a lot of fans would surely enjoy.