Seahawks Designate K'Von Wallace, Artie Burns to Return to Practice

After lengthy stays on injured reserve, the Seahawks have additional reinforcements returning to bolster secondary depth in K'Von Wallace and Artie Burns.

Nov 3, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks safety K'Von Wallace (24) rides a cart to the locker room following an injury during the third quarter against the Los Angeles Rams at Lumen Field. / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Potentially providing extra insurance in the secondary for the closing stretch run, the Seattle Seahawks designated safety K'Von Wallace and cornerback Artie Burns to return to practice from injured reserve on Wednesday.

In an additional move, Seattle re-signed running back Brittain Brown to the practice squad, adding supplemental depth with starter Ken Walker III nursing a calf injury.

Wallace, who began the season as the Seahawks' third safety after signing with the team this offseason, sustained an ankle injury in the team's Week 9 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. He was placed on IR on Nov. 11 following Seattle's bye week and has produced 15 tackles and a forced fumble in nine games this season.

As for Burns, the veteran cornerback has been out since re-aggravating a toe injury originally suffered during the preseason in a Week 6 loss to the 49ers. He recorded two pass breakups in that game after spending the first five weeks on the practice squad.

The Seahawks now have 21 days to activate Wallace and/or Burns and re-add them to the active roster. Seattle's 53-man roster is currently full, so at least one transaction will have to be made to activate either of them in coming weeks.

Given the state of the secondary, it remains to be seen where Wallace or Burns would fit in for the Seahawks returning from injury. Since the bye, former backup safety Coby Bryant has filled Rayshawn Jenkins' starting role alongside Julian Love and played exceptionally well, while Jenkins has been plugged in as the third safety in sub-packages, a role Wallace played before his injury.

As for Burns, the Seahawks have found a quality second boundary starter at cornerback in Josh Jobe and Tre Brown and rookie Nehemiah Pritchett both sit behind him on the depth chart, so there may not be a natural spot for him right now on the roster.

The benefit at both positions, of course, is depth. Seattle's safety room hasn't been fully healthy for most of the season at this point. Second-year safety Jerrick Reed II has also been active the last five games, but he's played just five defensive snaps. At cornerback, Brown missed last week's game with a hamstring injury, so his status moving forward bears watching.

With Love, Bryant, Jenkins, Reed, and Wallace all healthy, head coach Mike Macdonald will surely have plenty of different looks he can experiment with. At the very least, Wallace will likely be a special teams contributor, while Burns has the versatility to play in the slot and also has special teams ability that could be beneficial for the Seahawks as they push for an NFC West title.

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