Seahawks Designate Rayshawn Jenkins to Return to Practice

Sidelined for the past four weeks with a hand injury, the Seahawks could have Rayshawn Jenkins back in action for the final stretch run.

Sep 22, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks safety Rayshawn Jenkins (2) celebrates with safety Julian Love (20) an incomplete pass to Miami Dolphins tight end Durham Smythe (81) during the fourth quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

After missing the previous four games with a broken hand, the Seattle Seahawks designated veteran safety Rayshawn Jenkins to return to practice, paving the way for him to potentially be activated in time for Sunday's matchup with the Arizona Cardinals.

Jenkins, who signed a two-year contract with Seattle in March, suffered the injury during a Week 5 loss to the New York Giants and tried to play with a cast on his hand in a loss to San Francisco five days later. Struggling to tackle with the cast, he underwent surgery and landed on injured reserve, thrusting Coby Bryant into the starting lineup in his place.

In six games prior to being placed on injured reserve, Jenkins tallied 38 combined tackles and returned a fumble 102 yards for a touchdown, setting a new Seahawks team record for the longest fumble return.

While Jenkins will return to practice this week, the Seahawks won't have to rush him back into game action due to Bryant's stellar play in his absence. The third-year defensive back has excelled alongside Julian Love, producing 26 tackles, three pass breakups, and an interception while allowing no touchdowns in coverage during four starts, playing well enough to potentially create a dilemma on whether or not to plug Jenkins back into the lineup when activated.

With that said, Seattle values Jenkins' experience and versatility, and at worst, he should remain a fixture in three-safety sets once he returns. The team will have a 21-day window to activate him to the 53-man roster or he will revert back to season-ending injured reserve.

In additional moves, the Seahawks placed outside linebacker Jamie Sheriff on the practice squad injured reserve and signed tight end Tyler Mabry and quarterback John Rhys Plumlee to fill two vacancies on the practice squad.

Mabry, a fifth-year veteran out of Maryland, signed with Seattle's 53-man roster and dressed for Sunday's win over San Francisco. But with Noah Fant and Brady Russell potentially ready to return to play after missing the game due to injuries, the team waived him on Monday and after going unclaimed, he will return as a member of the practice squad once again.

Rhys Plumlee, an undrafted rookie out of UCF, met with the Seahawks for an official top-30 pre draft visit in April. The dual-threat quarterback threw 29 touchdown passes in two seasons as a starter for the Knights and rushed for over 1,300 yards with 16 touchdowns on the ground. He spent training camp with the Steelers before being waived and joined the Jaguars practice squad until being released on November 12.

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