For most of the second half in Sunday’s loss to the Green Bay Packers, the Seattle Seahawks employed rookie Phil Haynes at left guard in place of Jamarco Jones.
It was the first game action for Haynes, save for a single snap on special teams in the wild card game against Philadelphia.
Haynes battled a sports hernia during training camp and was placed on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list for the first six weeks of the season. He was activated on November 5, but spent the rest of the year as a reserve, just trying to get caught up after missing so much time.
Haynes evidently did enough to earn playing time on Sunday, and he took advantage of the opportunity, impressing coach Pete Carroll in what amounted to an audition for a job in 2020.
“Phil did a good job,” Carroll said on Monday afternoon. “What we’ve seen in Phillip is that he’s really strong and he plays real square. He did it in that game, he did very well. Was really pleased to see him, he’s had such little play time since he’s been here, so it was great to see him do well.”
Starting left guard Mike Iupati is a free agent, and right guard D.J. Fluker could opt out of his contract and test free agency as well, so there’s definitely an opportunity for Haynes to step into a starting role in 2020.
Time will tell if he gets that chance, but having a strong performance under his belt, in a playoff game no less, certainly helps his odds.
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