Out of nowhere, Seahawks put starting safety Tedric Thompson on injured reserve
The Seahawks have found a way to clear their issue of too many safeties.
They are putting one on injured reserve, out of nowhere.
The team announced Wednesday Tedric Thompson, their starting free safety, is now on IR with a previously undisclosed shoulder injury.
That clears space for rookie Marquise Blair to join Bradley McDougald, returning from back spasms, as Seattle’s new starting safety tandem.
Coach Pete Carroll said after the announcement Thompson has been playing since last season with a torn labrum. Carroll said it got to the point this past weekend from the game at Atlanta that Seattle’s fourth-round draft choice in 2017 and first up replacing departed All-Pro Earl Thomas at free safety couldn’t play through the injury anymore, and that he will now have surgery.
“He needs labrum surgery. He’s had a shoulder that’s been bothering him for some time,” Carroll said. “We are going to get it fixed up.
“It’s been a while. He’s been really toughin’ it out for a good while.
“So, we are going to miss him. He’s been an integral part of our stuff and a really good teammate. We love the guy and hate that he’s not going to get to play. But we’ve got to fix him up.”
I asked, why now? Why not before this season? Why not after it?
“Because it’s bothered him that much,” Carroll said. “We need to fix it. He’s been making it through it, and he can’t keep it going.”
Thompson started last weekend’s win at Atlanta—and played all 76 snaps.
Monday, Carroll was asked if any player was injured in the Atlanta game other than center Justin Britt, who left the Falcons game with a season-ending knee injury.
“Nothing out of the ordinary. Bumps and bruises and stuff like that,” Carroll said. “We’re checking on some guys (Monday) and making sure everybody’s OK.
“Nobody is really hitting the injury list.”
Well...
Thompson missed the Seahawks’ win at Pittsburgh and home loss to New Orleans last month with a hamstring strain. He returned Sept. 29 to start at Arizona, and again four days later to start against the Los Angeles Rams. On Oct. 10 he intercepted a pass teammate Shaquill Griffin tipped from Cleveland’s Jarvis Landry in the end zone in a win over the Browns.
Thompson has not been on any of the team’s injury reports the last four weeks. He missed last season’s regular-season finale against Arizona with an ankle injury and was listed with an ankle injury before January’s playoff game at Dallas. But he started against the Cowboys. The team listed him with a chest issue in December, a quadriceps issue in November and a rib injury before the 2018 opener at Denver.
But never for any shoulder issue.
Asked if Thompson’s labrum-shoulder issue isn’t something that the NFL requires them to report, Carroll said: “Yeah, he’s, he’s...you know, he’s been...last year or something like that he had something he was concerned about. And this week, just, it went, you know. We have to fix him up.”
What all but cements Blair and McDougald starting Sunday against Tampa Bay at safety is Carroll saying McDougald is full go returning from his back spasms this week—and that newly acquired Quandre Diggs is unlikely to make his Seahawks debut at safety against the Buccaneers. Diggs has a hamstring injury he brought with him in his trade last week from Detroit.
To take Thompson’s place on the active roster, the Seahawks signed 31-year-old free-agent outside linebacker Dekoda Watson. Carroll said Watson will get a chance to aid the Seahawks’ needy pass rush on the outside, and to play on special teams. He’s played for San Francisco (2017-18), Denver (‘16), New England (‘15), Dallas (‘14), Jacksonville (‘14) and Tampa Bay (‘10-13).
This time last week it appeared Thompson was on his way out of the starting lineup.
Carroll was saying how much Blair, the team’s second-round draft choice this spring, deserves to play more at safety because of his stand-out play in limited opportunities. Blair started the Atlanta game when McDougald couldn’t play because of the back spasms.
On his morning day-after radio show the day after the home loss to the Ravens Oct. 20, and again with doubling-down comments in his afternoon press conference that day, Carroll said it was inexcusable for his defense to give up Baltimore’s 50-yard pass from Lamar Jackson to Miles Boykin. Boykin was well behind Thompson on the game’s opening series. The play set up a Ravens field goal, the first of two field goals to which Seattle held Baltimore’s offense until the final 2 minutes of the third quarter.
“We made a big mistake early. Gave them a freebie down the field,” Carroll said.
“Just distasteful. I hate it, that we gave them that. There’s no way that should ever happen.
“Other than that, I thought Marquise did a really good job.”
It was the second pass of 50 or more yards Thompson allowed in the first seven games. The other is when he mistimed his jump at Andy Dalton’s shot-putted pass for Cincinnati down the middle of the field late in the first half of the opening game last month. John Ross caught that ball behind Thompson for a gift touchdown.
Then the Seahawks traded for Diggs, Detroit’s captain and starting strong safety.
This story was originally published October 30, 2019 at 12:17 PM.
