Seahawks Place RB Kenny McIntosh on IR, Promote 2 From Practice Squad

Elevating a pair of veteran defensive players for extra depth and special teams, the Seattle Seahawks will have Artie Burns and Jon Rhattigan in uniform for the season opener against the Los Angeles Rams, while a rookie running back will be on the shelf at least four games.

Adding some insurance in the secondary and on special teams, the Seattle Seahawks elevated veteran cornerback Artie Burns and linebacker Jon Rhattigan from the practice squad to suit up against the Los Angeles Rams in Sunday's regular season opener.

Burns, a former first-round pick out of Miami, returned to the Seahawks as a free agent in May after playing in three games for the team in 2022. Enjoying a strong preseason, the 28-year old cornerback registered nine tackles, a tackle for loss, and two pass breakups, initially earning a spot on the 53-man roster before being waived and brought back to the practice squad.

With Devon Witherspoon listed as questionable with a hamstring injury on Friday's final injury report, promoting Burns may be telling about his status heading into Seattle's opener. It's also possible both players could play, as the team may not be comfortable suiting rookie Kyu Blu Kelly less than two weeks after being claimed off waivers from Baltimore and prefer the veteran as a special teams contributor and depth corner.

Even with Jordyn Brooks ready to play less than nine months after ACL surgery and Devon Bush also active behind starter Bobby Wagner at linebacker, the Seahawks opted to promote Rhattigan due to his special teams talents. Before suffering an ACL injury of his own as a rookie in 2021, he produced 10 tackles and a fumble recovery on kick and punt coverage, emerging as a standout in the third phase of the game.

Jon Rhattigan led the Seahawks in tackles during the preseason and should be a core special teams player in Sunday's opener against the Rams

Upon his return last season, Rhattigan racked up five special teams tackles in five games, continuing to shine bringing down kick and punt returners. This preseason, he led Seattle with 25 combined tackles and also pitched in two tackles for loss, earning an initial 53-man roster spot before being waived to make room for rookie linebacker Drake Thomas off waivers.

Similar to Burns, Rhattigan's presence could mean a deactivation for Thomas, who like Kelly has only been with the Seahawks since September 1 after being claimed off waivers from the Raiders.

In an additional roster move, Seattle placed rookie running back Kenny McIntosh on injured reserve with a knee injury. The seventh-round pick out of Georgia has been sidelined since spraining his knee during a mock game scrimmage on August 4 and will now have to miss at least four games before being eligible to return.

Without McIntosh, the Seahawks currently have three running backs in Ken Walker III, Zach Charbonnet, and DeeJay Dallas on the active roster. On the practice squad, the team re-signed undrafted rookie SaRodorick Thompson Jr. after a stellar showing in the preseason.