L.J. Collier Headlines Seahawks Inactives vs. Colts in Season Opener

Seattle will be without its former first-round draft choice, who is apparently a healthy scratch for the Week 1 opener in Indianapolis.

Corbin K. Smith | Sep 12, 2021

If there was a downside to having a spotless injury report on Friday as the Seahawks did, the team still had to deactivate six players for Sunday's opener against the Colts. As a result, the team will be playing without one of their former first-round picks.

In a bit of a surprise, Seattle made third-year defensive end L.J. Collier inactive. The former TCU standout wasn't listed on the team's final injury report and was a full participant at practice throughout the week, so he's presumed to be a healthy scratch.

After starting all 16 games at base defensive end last season, Collier was expected to once again play a significant role for the Seahawks defensive line and played the bulk of his snaps with the first-team defense in training camp. But for at least this week, he won't be a factor in the team's plans at Lucas Oil Stadium with nine other defensive linemen active.

Aside from Collier being an unexpected inactive designation, the team will also be without quarterback Jake Luton, running back Alex Collins, rookie tackle Stone Forsythe, center Dakoda Shepley, and cornerback Bless Austin.

With Forsythe and Collins inactive, the Seahawks will roll with Jamarco Jones as the primary backup to veteran left tackle Duane Brown and the former Miami duo of DeeJay Dallas and Travis Homer will be active behind Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny in the backfield.

As for the Colts, as expected, starting cornerback Xavier Rhodes (calf) and tackle Eric Fisher (Achilles) won't play in the opener. T.J. Carrie is expected to replace Rhodes in the secondary, while Julie'n Davenport will fill in for Fisher as Carson Wentz's blind side protector.

Closing out the Colts inactives, the home team will be without guard Danny Pinter, guard/tackle Will Fries, defensive end Kemoko Turay, defensive end Isaac Rochell, and cornerback Chris Wilcox.

Published Sep 12, 2021

CORBIN K. SMITH

Graduating from Manchester College in 2012, Smith began his professional career as a high school Economics teacher in Indianapolis and launched his own NFL website covering the Seahawks as a hobby. After teaching and coaching high school football for five years, he transitioned to a full-time sports reporter in 2017, writing for USA Today's Seahawks Wire while continuing to produce the Legion of 12 podcast. He joined the Arena Group in August 2018 and also currently hosts the daily Locked On Seahawks podcast with Rob Rang and Nick Lee. Away from his coverage of the Seahawks and the NFL, Smith dabbles in standup comedy, is a heavy metal enthusiast and previously performed as lead vocalist for a metal band, and enjoys distance running and weight lifting. A habitual commuter, he resides with his wife Natalia in Colorado and spends extensive time reporting from his second residence in the Pacific Northwest.