More shuffling as another Seahawks defensive starter goes onto injured reserve
Down goes another injured Seahawks defender.
The team and its recently run-over defense put starting safety Rayshawn Jenkins on injured reserve Wednesday. That happened six days after he played every one of 65 snaps in Seattle’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers with a bulbous wrap over his hand.
K’Von Wallace has been the third safety with Jenkins and 2023 Pro Bowl selection Julian Love in coach Mike Macdonald’s defense most of this season. During the Seahawks’ ongoing, three-game losing streak Coby Bryant has been another safety playing as a sixth defensive back in dime defenses against the pass.
Jenkins signed this offseason with Seattle as a free-agent from Jacksonville. He has played every snap for Seattle’s defense through six games this season.
He joins key outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu on injured reserve.
Jenkins made two tackles against San Francisco last week, but not the one they truly needed late. He was in the middle of the field as the last Seahawk available to stop Isaac Guerendo on the 49ers’ rookie running back’s game-clinching run of 76 yards. That came with 1:44 left in a one-score game last Thursday night. Nose tackle Johnathan Hankins got pushed 3 yards off the ball. The Niners’ offensive line blocked both inside linebackers Tyrel Dodson and Jerome Baker out of the play. That combined to put Jenkins unexpectedly on the spot as the lone unblocked defender. He took a poor angle trying to tackle Guerendo as the rookie ran past him.
After the game, Jenkins didn’t talk about his injury or any limitations. He talked about the need for the defense that’s allowed 116, 175 and 228 yards rushing the last three games to have...
“Discipline,” Jenkins said last Thursday night, “because when you play against good teams and, it’s the NFL, and they’re gonna exploit you and find you out. They’re going to find wherever you miss gaps or misfit or whatever it may be.
“It’s very fixable. Everyone just has to be open. I think we got the right guys. I think that is the case. But we just have to really hold each other accountable, and we can’t beat around the bush.”
Jenkins will now be doing that out of uniform for the next month, at least. The first game he could return to play in Nov. 24, in week 12 against Arizona.
Byron Murphy back practicing
Byron Murphy has missed the last three games with a hamstring injury. But the rookie first-round draft choice was on the field Wednesday for the start of practice. He was doing defensive-tackle drills for the second consecutive workout this week. These are his first practices since the days leading into the week-three game against Miami Sept. 22.
That remains Seattle’s last victory.
Murphy is trending toward playing Sunday when the Seahawks (3-3) face the NFC South-leading Falcons (4-2) in Atlanta (10 a.m., channel 13).
This story was originally published October 16, 2024 at 1:54 PM.
