Seahawks’ 2 fill-in starters at Carolina know role; what’s up with Tory Horton?
Prior needs for backups to play are coming in handy for the Seahawks’ playoff push.
Seattle on Friday declared left tackle Charles Cross and safety Coby Bryant out for its game Sunday at Carolina (8-7). Cross will miss his second consecutive game with a hamstring he injured getting jumped on during Jason Myers’ game-winning field goal on the final play of Seattle’s win over Indianapolis Dec. 14.
Bryant injured his knee last week in the team’s win in overtime over the Los Angeles Rams.
Coach Mike Macdonald said following the Seahawks’ practice Friday that veteran Josh Jones will start again at left tackle, and Ty Okada will start at safety against the Panthers.
The Seahawks have already clinched their first playoff appearance in three seasons. They can win the NFC West and secure the top seed in the conference’s playoffs with wins in their final two regular-season games, Sunday plus the following weekend at San Francisco (11-4) to begin January.
Asked if there is any concern of longer absences for Cross and/or Bryant, Macdonald said: “It’s just a process of getting them back. Just got to go through it. (They are) working (their) tails off, and hopefully we get them back soon.”
Macdonald said earlier this week there is no indication Cross or Bryant have injuries extensive enough to go on injured reserve.
In the meantime this is why the Seahawks signed Jones, a sixth-year veteran of three previous NFL teams, this spring. He is the swing, backup tackle who can play both sides. He replaced right tackle Abe Lucas for four plays two games ago against the Colts, when Lucas was getting checked on the sidelines for a possible injury. Lucas finished that game.
Last week against the Rams Jones made his first start for Seattle, at left tackle for Cross. Before that, Jones had played just 56 offensive snaps mostly in mop-up duty at the end of lopsided games this season.
On the final play of the Rams game, Jones held his effective block of Jared Verse, Los Angeles’ top edge pass rusher, an extended time. That allowed blocking tight end Eric Saubert to release very late into an undetected pass route into the end zone. Quarterback Sam Darnold waited and waited then threw to Saubert for the two-point conversion that won the game in overtime 38-37, and put Seattle on its inside track to the division title and top playoff seed.
“Josh was amazing. He was amazing all day, just doing his job. I don’t think it’s any more than that,” Darnold said. “He’s been doing it in practice when we’ve needed it. Even throughout the season, guys go down, and he’s able to step in, even if it’s for a play or two. Even in our goal-line package throughout the season, he just does his job every single play.
“We’re just going to continue to look to him to step up whenever we need him to.”
Okada has made nine starts this season, at the different safety position Julian Love vacated from early October to early December because of Love’s hamstring injury. Macdonald and teammates have praised Okada, a former Montana State Bobcat and Seattle practice-squad player, for his excellence in tackling, plays on passes and preparation for games.
Sunday against Carolina Okada will be in a new role. Bryant’s safety job is different than Love’s. Bryant is more of a free safety, often staying as the deepest man in Macdonald’s defense. Okada has been filling in at the more strong safety-like role Love has, often closer to the line of scrimmage.
Rookie Nick Emmanwori’s versatility and skill playing all over the defense, interchanging from front to back almost by the play, can help mitigate Bryant’s loss and the role being new to Okada against the Panthers.
Latest on Tory Horton
Still no word on when rookie wide receiver Tory Horton will play again.
The fifth-round draft choice this spring was Seattle’s training-camp star this summer. He sparked the Seahawks’ first-half runaway from New Orleans in a game in September with a team-record 95-yard punt return for a touchdown. He caught two touchdown passes from Darnold in the team’s rout of the Commanders outside Washington, D.C., in early November.
He hasn’t played since. He has a shin injury. “I have nothing on him,” Macdonald said Friday.
Asked if he has a time to expect to know something on Horton, the head coach said: “It’s just a matter of if we are going to get there. ... As a coach, of course, we want him back yesterday. That’s just not the way it works. So the more time you spend worrying about it, you’re going to drive yourself crazy.
“He’s working really hard. Our trainers are doing a great job. It’s just the nature of the beast, you know.”
Macdonald declined to be specific about the nature of Horton’s shin injury that’s caused him to miss almost two full months now.
“It’s a shin. I’m not a shin expert, but it’s a shin,” Macdonald said, chuckling at his evasiveness.
“Right now he can’t play full speed. And the shin is the problem.”
The Seahawks have two remaining designations of returning players from injured reserve during the regular season. They get two more at the start of their upcoming postseason.
Seattle has returned from IR this season Emmanwori, fullback Robbie Ouzts, center Jalen Sundell, wide receiver Dareke Young, Love and defensive tackle Jarran Reed.
On injured reserve currently the team has Horton, special-teams stalwart Chazz Surratt, running back George Holani and rookie tight end Elijah Arroyo. Arroyo is the only one not eligible to come off IR next week, before the regular-season finale against the 49ers. NFL rules state players must remain on IR for a minimum number of games.
Asked specifically about Holani and Surratt’s statuses for next week or the playoffs, Macdonald said both are doing “really well.”
“We have to make some decisions based off how many slots we have left,” the coach said, meaning the two IR-to-return slots.
Rashid Shaheed’s emergence
Fact is, the Seahawks don’t need Horton — because of Rashid Shaheed.
Seattle traded with the Saints to get Shaheed Nov. 4, two days after Horton last played in a game. Shaheed has become a Pro Bowl selection at punt and kick returner for Seattle. He’s emerged recently as Darnold’s more-trusted third wide receiver behind Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp.
Shaheed had four catches in his first four games for the Seahawks. This month he had nine catches for 141 yards in consecutive games: the team’s wins at Atlanta and over the Colts. He had a 31-yard run on an end around late in the victory over the Rams.
“He’s been doing an incredible job learning the system, doing everything that he can to continue to learn the system,” Darnold said, “but learn how I see things. And then if he sees things in a different way, we’re just constantly communicating. “I think that’s the best part about ‘Shid. He is always willing to communicate and have those conversations.”
This story was originally published December 26, 2025 at 2:50 PM.
