The Seattle Seahawks have a banged-up secondary entering Week 3. The issue is that the team has a very important game in Week 4 on Thursday Night Football. In other words, Seattle plays on Sunday and then four days later plays again.
Ahead of Week 3's matchup versus the New Orleans Saints, Seattle signed safety Jerrick Reed II from the practice squad and elevated fellow safety D'Anthony Bell from the practice squad. This implies that Pro Bowl safety Julian Love.
The inactives list will come out about an hour and a half before kickoff, and we will update this article at that time, but the safe assumption is that Reed and/or Bell are going to get lots of snaps against New Orleans. Both might be better than Ty Okada, who was already on the roster.
Seattle Seahawks making last-minute roster moves ahead of Week 3 versus the New Orleans Saints
Okada was awful in Week 1, giving up a touchdown pass to San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle and being meaningless in run support. If Love can't play, Okada will take Love's spot next to Coby Bryant. Rookie Nick Emmanwori was listed as doubtful for Week 3, too, but he was less likely to go after suffering a high ankle sprain in Week 1.
Love is dealing with a hamstring injury, which seemingly began as a hip problem.
Seattle also missed Pro Bowl cornerback Devon Witherspoon in Week 2 as he hurt his knee against the 49ers. Derion Kendrick played exceedingly well in Witherspoon's absence, but relying on any one other than Witherspoon for a long stretch would be a mistake.
Ultimately, Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald might be making decisions more about the Thursday game, when the team plays NFC West rival, the Arizona Cardinals, than Sunday's matchup. The Saints aren't very good.
If the Seahawks' front four can get as good of pass pressure as they have through two games, no matter who is playing safety should have an easier time. The only question might be how well Okada, Bell, or Reed can help in run support against New Orleans' great running back, Alvin Kamara.
Also of note is that running back Jacardia Wright was elevated from the practice squad. This would imply that Zach Charbonnet will be inactive versus the Saints with a foot injury.
Update: Julian Love, Nick Emmanwori, Devon Witherspoon, Zach Charbonnet, Mason Richman, Nick Kallerup, and Connor O'Toole are all inactive for Week 3.