Kickoff is nearly moments away, as the Chargers will visit the Seahawks for the final preseason matchup of 2021. You can find all the information you need to know here.
Get the latest updates from the game with our live tweets below:
Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Stay locked in with coverage from the preseason matchup between the Chargers and Seahawks.
Kickoff is nearly moments away, as the Chargers will visit the Seahawks for the final preseason matchup of 2021. You can find all the information you need to know here.
Get the latest updates from the game with our live tweets below:
According to a report by Ian Rapoport at NFL Network, the team has signed Ian Bunting to take Willson’s place.
The Seattle Seahawks needed another tight end on the roster after the sudden retirement of Luke Willson yesterday.
According to a report by Ian Rapoport at NFL Network, the team has signed Ian Bunting to take Willson’s place.
The day after Luke Willson steps away, the #Seahawks signed Ian Bunting to take his roster spot. The 6-foot-7 former UDFA from Cal was released by the #AZCardinals recently.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 26, 2021
Bunting (6-foot-7, 252 pounds) played his college ball at California, where he posted 29 catches and 319 yards but no touchdowns. He went undrafted and has spent some time with the Indianapolis Colts and the Arizona Cardinals but hasn’t been in an NFL game as of yet.
He will compete for a spot on the roster with the other tight ends on the bottom end of the depth chart, including Cam Sutton and Tyler Mabry.
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Well, that reunion was a short one.
Well, that reunion was a short one.
Just one day after signing former tight end Luke Willson (his fourth stint with the team) the Seattle Seahawks released him. No reason was given with the announcement, but it became clear why pretty soon after. In a post he shared on social media, Willson has announced his retirement from the sport. Willson claims that an experience with a pericardial effusion this offseason made him change his perspective and re-evaluate his future.
— Luke Willson (@LWillson_82) August 25, 2021
Must have been a tough practice, yesterday.
If this is indeed the end of Willson’s NFL career, he walks away with 111 catches, 1,307 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Seattle signed Willson to address their depth issues at tight end. Colby Parkinson is dealing with a foot injury and is expected to miss some time. Other free agent tight ends the Seahawks might consider signing include Tyler Eifert, Seth Devalve, Tim Tebow and Trey Burton.
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According to a report by Tom Pelissero at NFL Network, Seattle is trading a conditional seventh-round pick to the Houston Texans in exchange for cornerback John Reid.
The Seattle Seahawks clearly needed more help at the cornerback position before the start of the 2021 NFL season. Today, they’re getting some courtesy of a trade by general manager John Schneider.
According to a report by Tom Pelissero at NFL Network, Seattle is trading a conditional seventh-round pick to the Houston Texans in exchange for cornerback John Reid.
The #Texans are trading CB John Reid to the #Seahawks for a conditional seventh-round pick in 2023, per source.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 24, 2021
Reid was a fourth-round pick by Houston in the 2020 NFL draft. He played 13 games as a rookie, putting in 145 snaps on defense (13%) and 96 on special teams (22%). Reid posted 13 combined tackles and one pass defensed during his time on the field.
He joins a cornerback rotation that’s extremely unsettled for this late in the calendar year. Ahkello Witherspoon, Damarious Randall, Tre Brown, Tre Flowers and D.J. Reed could all get significant playing time during this coming season. Reid won’t solve all their DB problems, but at least he’ll bring a little more depth.
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The Seahawks are releasing cornerback Pierre Desir, according to a report by Ian Rapoport at NFL Network.
The Seahawks are releasing cornerback Pierre Desir, according to a report by Ian Rapoport at NFL Network.
Desir has bounced around a lot since the Browns picked him in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL draft. He put in two years in Cleveland, three with the Colts and one each with the Ravens, Chargers and Jets. This was Desir’s second stint in Seattle – he spent part of the 2016 season on their practice squad. All together, he’s appeared in 73 career games, totaling eight interceptions and 200 solo tackles.
Desir’s release is likely to make room for tight end Luke Willson, who is expected to re-sign with the Seahawks.
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According to a report by Ian Rapoport at NFL Network, free agent tight end Luke Willson is expected to sign with his former team.
The Seattle Seahawks are a bit thin at tight end right now. As they have several times before, they’ll look to a familiar face to help fill that void.
According to a report by Ian Rapoport at NFL Network, free agent tight end Luke Willson is expected to sign with his former team. Willson hinted as much with this A+ Twitter post.
— Luke Willson (@LWillson_82) August 24, 2021
Seattle is down a few tight ends with Colby Parkinson out due to a foot injury. Gerald Everett and Tyler Mabry are also hurt.
All together, Willson has spent seven years in a Seahawks uniform, plus brief stints in Detroit and Baltimore. It’s difficult to project where he’d fit in on the current depth chart given all the moving pieces.
Seattle’s roster is currently at the max of 80 players after yesterday’s transactions, so they will have to make a corresponding move in order to make room for Willson.
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Former Seahawks tight end Luke Willson will visit the team later this week, according to a report by Ian Rapoport at NFL Network.
Former Seahawks tight end Luke Willson will visit the team later this week, according to a report by Ian Rapoport at NFL Network.
Willson was a fifth-round pick by Seattle in the 2013 NFL draft. He spent five seasons with the Seahawks, followed by one in Detroit before returning to the Seahawks in 2019. Last season, he played a few games with Seattle before finishing the year in Baltimore.
All in all, Willson has played in 102 regular season games, totaling 111 catches, 1,307 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Willson has never been a star tight end, but bringing him back could help out the Seahawks at a position of need. Colby Parkinson has re-injured his foot and will be out a while, even if he doesn’t require surgery. Gerald Everett and Tyler Mabry are also dinged up at the moment.
The Seahawks would have to make room for Willson – today’s moves brought the roster total to 80 players.
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This roster move wasn’t hard to see coming.
This roster move wasn’t hard to see coming.
A lot of Seahawks players struggled in last night’s preseason loss to the Broncos, but none failed harder than tight end Dominick Wood-Anderson, who has been released by the team.
The @Seahawks released TE Dominick Wood-Anderson this afternoon.
— Seahawks PR (@seahawksPR) August 22, 2021
Wood-Anderson was flagged for penalties five times against Denver – at least that’s when we stopped counting.
Seattle has until Tuesday afternoon to get the roster down to 80 players, then there will be one more round of cuts after the final preseason game.
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Good news: Smith has apparently cleared the concussion protocol and is back at practice, per head coach Pete Carroll.
Geno Smith took a scary hit in last week’s preseason opener against the Raiders. The Seahawks’ No. 2 quarterback left the field soon after and was eventually ruled out with a concussion.
Good news: Smith has apparently cleared the concussion protocol and is back at practice, per head coach Pete Carroll.
“He had a really good couple of days, and he’s back on the field today. We’re really happy that he made it through it, so he’s clear.”
However, Carroll said he’s not sure if Smith will suit up for Saturday night’s home game against the Broncos. Carroll was also mum on the possibility of starters playing. Even if Russell Wilson is active, it’s unlikely he will get a lot of snaps given the state of Seattle’s offensive line. That should give the coaching staff more time to evaluate backups Alex McGough and Sean Mannion.
Carroll also offered injury updates on a few other players.
Wide receivers Penny Hart (ankle) and Dee Eskridge (toe) are not expected to play. Neither is center Ethan Pocic (hamstring). Offensive tackle Jamarco Jones (back) should be out there, while defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche could go either way.
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They aren’t the only ones who miss having No. 50 around, either.
K.J. Wright played linebacker for the Seattle Seahawks at a high level for the last 10 years. At the moment he’s a free agent and a lot of fans are eager to see him re-signed for another year. They aren’t the only ones who miss having No. 50 around, either.
Speaking at his post-practice press conference yesterday, safety Ryan Neal said he misses Wright and his mentorship dearly.
“I mean I miss him dearly. I mean like I said, that was my teacher, you know that was my mentor. When I did end up getting the starting job and, you know, the gameplan was just coming fast at me. . . So I come up here 6 in the morning and K.J. was going through film just teaching me how he sees the game, teaching me how to do my drops and just what to see, what to look at, what to key, and that was my guy man, that was my teacher, so I miss him a lot.”
Wright’s football IQ and instincts are as good as any defender in the league, but it’s not just his intelligence that’s valuable – Wright can still ball and his peers recognize it. He recently made his first appearance on the NFL Top 100 list, debuting at No. 67.
Bring him back!
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