Getty
The Seattle Seahawks made several roster moves ahead of the team’s important Week 17 matchup against the Carolina Panthers. Seattle moved up a defender from the team’s practice squad and reunited with a veteran cornerback.
The Seahawks signed safety D’Anthony Bell from the team’s practice squad to the active roster. Additionally, Seattle once again signed cornerback Tyler Hall to the team’s practice squad. The Seahawks released Hall one week ago to make room for Bell on the practice squad.
Here’s what you need about the latest Seahawks news ahead of the team’s matchup against the Panthers.
Heading into the Carolina contest, Seattle holds the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoff standings with two remaining games. The Seahawks would get a first-round bye and home-field advantage if the team is able to secure the top seed.
It will not be easy as Seattle faces two challenging tests against playoff contenders in the Panthers and San Francisco 49ers to close out the season. Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald noted that making the postseason is the first of several goals the team had heading into the season.
“It’s like, it’s great,” Macdonald said of Seattle making the NFL playoffs, per Seahawks.com’s Ari Horton. “Yeah. I mean, we got our goals. We want to win games. We want to make the playoffs. In order to make our next goal, we have to win this game.
“So that’s where we’re at. I think same thing with the Pro Bowl. It’s cool. It’s great. Years from now, we’ll look back and we’ll love this team and we’ll love the process and the whole thing, but we got to go make it come to life right now. We can’t be sitting around telling how sweet we are to everybody.”
The Seahawks are a 7.5-point favorite versus the Panthers in the Week 17 matchup, per FanDuel. Carolina sits atop the NFC South and holds the No. 4 seed in the latest NFL playoff picture.
As for the roster moves, both Hall and Bell give Seattle depth in the secondary. Bell has played in 63 games over his four NFL seasons, including 13 games this season. Hall had a standout college football career at Wyoming.
“Despite playing outside cornerback in two of his last three years as a starter, Hall will clearly be viewed as a slot corner due to his lack of height and length,” NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein noted of Hall in his pre-draft profile. “He struggles with recovery burst when asked to flip his hips and run, but does flash a twitchy downhill trigger when allowed to keep throws in front of him.”
Hall was part of the Los Angeles Rams team that won the Super Bowl during the 2021 season. The corner has played in 31 games during his NFL career.
One of the reasons for the Seahawks’ success this season has been the career year of Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The star wideout has 104 receptions for a league-leading 1,637 yards and 10 touchdowns.
“Definitely proud of our team, just getting there,” Smith-Njigba noted, per Seahawks.com. “Something that I’ve kept my eye on in the offseason and just really wanted to be in this situation. So, I’m super grateful and I don’t want to waste any opportunities.”
The Seahawks are hoping to close out the season on a high note and retain the No. 1 seed for the postseason.
