Rayshawn Jenkins' Return Creates 'Good Problems' For Seahawks at Safety

With Coby Bryant playing excellent football in his place, could Rayshawn Jenkins have to return from injury in more of a situational role for the Seahawks?

Oct 6, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks safety Rayshawn Jenkins (2) tackles New York Giants wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson (17) following a reception by Robinson during the second quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

RENTON, Wash. - Returning to practice after missing the previous four games on Wednesday, the Seattle Seahawks will have some interesting decisions to make at the safety position with Rayshawn Jenkins back in the fold.

Coming back from surgery to repair a broken hand that landed him on injured reserve, Seattle listed Jenkins as a full participant at Wednesday's practice. Before taking the field to continue preparation for Arizona, Macdonald indicated the veteran defender likely would be ready to suit up "sooner than later," but his status for Sunday will become clearer as the week progresses.

"He looks good. He's in good spirits," Macdonald said. "Just adding another great player to our guys and kind of getting back in the mix with how we're going to be able to utilize those safeties. It's exciting times to see how the week will shake out."

Signed to a two-year contract in March, Jenkins started each of the first six games for the Seahawks and saw action at both safety spots in Macdonald's scheme, producing 38 tackles and returning a fumble for a 102-yard touchdown against the Giants in Week 5. When he went down, it seemed to be guaranteed that his starting spot would be waiting for him upon his return.

However, while Jenkins has been recovering over the past month and change, converted cornerback Coby Bryant has been instrumental in Seattle's defensive improvements of late. In his first start alongside Julian Love in Atlanta, he intercepted Kirk Cousins and finished with a game-high 11 combined tackles, looking more than comfortable at his new position, leading to a convincing victory over the Falcons on the road.

In four starts in Jenkins' stead, Bryant has been one of the Seahawks best all-around players, tallying 26 tackles, a pick, and three pass breakups. Per Pro Football Focus, among qualified safeties, he currently ranks tied for 10th in pass breakups, second in forced incompletion rate (38 percent), and a respectable 23rd in passer rating against (71.4), drawing consistent praise from Macdonald and teammates such as Love and cornerback Devon Witherspoon.

Given his performance and lauded work ethic on the practice field, Macdonald and his staff may be hesitant to remove Bryant from the lineup at this stage. The former Thorpe Award winner at Cincinnati has more than earned the opportunity to continue playing extensive snaps with his penchant for getting his hands on the football and being active defending the run as a willing and capable tackler.

But while some may view this as a Wally Pipp situation where Jenkins lost his job simply for being injured, even if Bryant stays in the lineup, there may still be a significant role for the veteran to play in Macdonald's defense moving forward. Dating back to his time as a defensive coordinator in Baltimore, Seattle's first-year head coach has always loved to mix in three safety looks, creating confusion for opposing quarterbacks unsure of the position each player occupies.

Since Jenkins went down, K'Von Wallace and most recently Ty Okada have seen the field for a fair amount of action in sub packages as a third safety, while Jerrick Reed has been waiting in the wings since returning from a torn ACL. With Wallace now on injured reserve himself, the door has been opened for the veteran to play substantial snaps as a strong safety and even a money linebacker, especially this weekend against a Cardinals squad with a talented running back in James Conner and a mobile dual-threat quarterback in Kyler Murray to contend with.

Listening to Macdonald on Wednesday, that seems to be the pathway the Seahawks are heading towards - at least in the short term - to maximize their depth at safety without sacrificing continuity and chemistry that has been established with Love and Bryant starting together. In time, depending on how things shake out, more snaps could be coming his way down the line as he rounds back into form off his injury.

"It's just good problems to have. Good players, [that] play multiple spots," Macdonald explained. "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 Bryant has been playing at such a high level and Okada held up fine as a third safety last weekend against the 49ers, the Seahawks won't have to rush Jenkins back if he isn't quite ready by Sunday. But they do have a roster spot open after waiving tight end Tyler Mabry on Monday and the decision not to fill it yet coupled with Macdonald's comments suggest the team has high confidence he will be activated barring no setbacks.

Assuming he does suit up for the first time in six weeks against Arizona, Seattle likely won't throw Jenkins back into the fire and play him every snap. In fact, a situational role may be the best bet to get his feet back underneath him while keeping Bryant in the starting lineup for the time being with the position group under continued assessment, and usage could also vary by opponent depending on the game plan for that week.

Either way, with the Seahawks surging on defense as of late, adding Jenkins back to the mix should be nothing but a positive and only improve the outlook for Macdonald's unit with his experience, versatility, and football IQ, regardless of whether he starts again or not. Depth wise, a position of strength will only get stronger and allow the coaching staff to have the full playbook at their disposal, a welcome development with seven games remaining on the schedule.

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