Wednesday was an off day for the Seattle Seahawks, and they’ll be back on the practice field on Thursday. However, the day did not go without news for the team, as the front office did make one roster move.
Official NFL transactions for today: #Seahawks waive WR Daniel Williams. That leaves one spot open right now on the 90-man preseason roster. @thenewstribune
— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) July 31, 2019
As Gregg Bell of the News Tribune reported in that tweet, the Seahawks freed up a roster spot, but who will fill it?
Some fans have speculated that the team will be adding running back Chris Warren III, the son of former Seahawks running back Chris Warren, who was released by the Oakland Raiders earlier this week and who the team was reported to be hosting for a visit this week. Warren was a training camp darling in 2018, leading the NFL by logging 292 yards on 58 carries over the course of the 2018 preseason. However, following that preseason performance, Warren landed on injured reserve and missed the entire 2018 season.
Alternatively, it’s also possible that the team could be adding offensive tackle Brian Wallace, who the Washington Redskins recently released. Wallace measured in at 6’5-1/4” and 326 pounds at his pro day, and in spite of his long arms and a 7’1-5/8” wingspan managed to put up 22 reps on the bench press.
However, the most likely move by the Hawks appears to be the addition of a defensive lineman. Seattle saw rookie defensive end L.J. Collier go down with an ankle injury earlier in the week, and Collier’s injury was nearly immediately reported to likely be sufficient in severity to rule force Collier to miss the entire preseason.
Wednesday came and went without any news on Collier’s injury, however, and one can interpret that as either a good thing or a bad thing. It’s possible Collier’s injury was minor and was just a sprain that will require no treatment beyond rest. However, it’s also possible that the day off gave the Hawks a chance to fully evaluate Collier’s injury and to make a decision on the plan of treatment.
In any case, Seattle has seen multiple rookie seasons derailed by ankle injuries in recent years. Those include Thomas Rawls in 2015, Germain Ifedi in 2016, Chris Carson in 2017 and Jamarco Jones in 2018. Hopefully the injury Collier sustained is nothing more serious than the dreaded high ankle sprain and will not require surgery. However, if it does, it would not be a surprise if the empty spot on the Seahawks roster is filled with a defensive lineman prior to the start of practice on Thursday morning.