SEATTLE — The Seattle Seahawks have been waiting all season to have their secondary at full strength, and that wait will continue after the team placed safety Julian Love on injured reserve.
The Seahawks announced the move on Saturday, also placing No. 3 tight end Eric Saubert (ankle) on IR. Both will have to miss at least the next four games.
Love and Saubert had already been ruled out for the Seahawks’ Sunday night game against the Washington Commanders.
Seattle (5-2) was expecting Love to return this week, but coach Mike Macdonald said he suffered a setback last week in his recovery from the hamstring injury that has already sidelined him for four of Seattle’s seven games.
Ty Okada is expected to continue to start in Love’s place.
The Seahawks on Saturday also activated rookie fullback Robbie Ouzts off IR and signed safety Jerrick Reed II off their practice squad. They elevated receivers Ricky White III and Cody White off their practice squad for the Commanders game, reinforcing their receiver corps amid injuries to Cooper Kupp (questionable/heel, hamstring), Dareke Young (out/hip) and Jake Bobo (out/Achilles).
The Seahawks will get cornerback Devon Witherspoon back Sunday night after he missed five games with a knee injury. Seattle’s secondary has been at full strength for all of five plays this season, as rookie safety Nick Emmanwori also went down on the first drive of the opener with a sprained ankle, sidelining hm for the next three games.
In addition to Kupp, defensive tackle Jarran Reed is listed as questionable, though he was a full participant in practice Friday. Guard Christian Haynes, who’s on IR, was also ruled out.
