As expected after returning to practice as a full participant this week, the Seattle Seahawks have activated veteran safety Rayshawn Jenkins to the 53-man roster ahead of Sunday's crucial Week 12 home contest against the Arizona Cardinals.
In additional news, the Seahawks also elevated tight end Tyler Mabry and linebacker Patrick O’Connell from the practice squad to suit up against the Cardinals.
Jenkins, who signed with Seattle as a free agent on a two-year deal in March, started each of the first six games this season before landing on injured reserve with a broken hand. After playing parts of two games with a club on his hand, he underwent surgery and missed the past four games with Coby Bryant starting in his place alongside Julian Love at the safety positions.
Prior to the injury, Jenkins ranked among the Seahawks team leaders with 38 combined tackles and made franchise history by returning a fumble 102 yards for a touchdown against the Giants in Week 5. Missed tackles have been a bit of a problem for him this year, though three of his seven total whiffs happened in the two games where he tried to play with his hand injury, which clearly impacted his performance.
Earlier in the week, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said Jenkins was in "good spirits" and that he looked forward to meshing him back into the defensive rotation with Love and Bryant.
"It's just good problems to have. Good players, [that] play multiple spots," Macdonald said. "You don't want to get too cute with it because then you get kind of in disarray a little bit. So, trying to maximize our continuity back there as well as seamlessly getting Rayshawn back into into the fold. So yeah, it's exciting."
Since Jenkins went on injured reserve, Bryant has played fantastic football in his absence, intercepting a pass and registering three pass breakups. Per Pro Football Focus, he ranks in the top three among qualified safeties in forced incompletion rate (38 percent), and he has been a reliable open field tackler during his four starts as well, making positive contributions to an improved run defense in recent weeks.
Given Bryant's stellar play, as Macdonald noted, Seattle has a good dilemma on its hands with Jenkins coming back. Continuity matters in the secondary and while the veteran should make the group even better upon his return, it may be best at least initially to mix him in as a third safety in sub-packages with Love and Bryant remaining the starters.
Regardless of what happens, Macdonald will have to do a bit of a balancing act figuring out how to re-implement Jenkins into the Seahawks defense. After missing four games, coming back in a game-planned situational role may be the best scenario for all parties involved, especially with his ability to play a money linebacker role against a Cardinals rushing attack that ranks second in the NFL in yards per carry.
