The Seattle Seahawks didn't stop doing work during the week of Thanksgiving. The team had to prepare for Week 13's matchup versus the Minnesota Vikings, after all. But Seattle was also busy doing a few roster moves, and one could have a late-season impact.
Rylie Mills was a fifth-round draft pick for the Seahawks in 2025, but likely would have been drafted higher had he not torn his ACL near the end of 2024. He was playing for Notre Dame at the same while his team was streaming toward the national championship game (the Irish lost to Ohio State).
Mills had spent the entire season on injured reserve until Wednesday when he was activated. He now has a 21-day to be made a part of the 53-man roster or would have to go on the season-ending injury list. The defensive lineman even practiced in limited fashion on Thursday, but he is a long way from playing in a game.
Rylie Mills being activated could pay off big for the Seattle Seahawks late in the season
For one, even healthy enough to play, he has to get in football shape, and that will take some time. Still, the Seahawks still have five games to play, and there is a chance by Week 17, Mills could help the team as a rotational interior defender.
He is 6'5" and 290 pounds, and played a lot in a high-level college program. This might make him a bit more NFL-ready than had he played in the MAC, for instance. As a senior last season before getting hurt, he had 7.5 sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss. While he isn't extremely quick, he is strong.
In fact, that he doesn't rely on high-end athleticism might allow him to get valuable snaps for the Seattle Seahawks later this season. He is strong enough to battle offensive linemen and can use that power to push past to get quarterback pressure.
The assumption, of course, is that if Rylie Mills was cleared to practice that the team believes he can play this season. That gives Seattle another option late in the season to help keep elite defensive linemen like Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy II fresh.
Moreover, Seattle should believe it can make the playoffs, so a finally healthy Mills gives the team more depth in the most meaningful games of the season. Any experience Mills gets now is only going to help him next year and beyond, when the defensive lineman can prove he is another in a long line of fifth-round draft steals for Seattle.