Seahawks Place Rayshawn Jenkins on IR, Sign Ty Okada

Starting Seattle Seahawks safety Rayshawn Jenkins was unexpectedly placed on injured reserve on Wednesday, and Ty Okada was signed off the practice squad.

Oct 6, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks safety Rayshawn Jenkins (2) after recovering a fumble and scoring a touchdown against the New York Giants during the first half at Lumen Field. / Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

In an unexpected move, the Seattle Seahawks placed starting safety Rayshawn Jenkins on injured reserve on Wednesday and signed second-year safety Ty Okada from the practice squad. To fill Okada's practice squad spot, the team signed cornerback Eric Garror.

Jenkins played with a club on his hand in the team's Week 6 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday and was still on the field for every snap. He has played every defensive snap for the Seahawks through six games as one of the team's bright spots defensively. Now, he will miss at least the next four games and be eligible to return in Week 12 versus the Arizona Cardinals.

Only safety Julian Love and linebacker Tyrel Dodson have more tackles this season than Jenkins, who has 38. He also had a 102-yard fumble return touchdown in Seattle's Week 5 loss to the New York Giants. Jenkins had some tackling issues since his hand injury, but that was present in multiple areas of the defense.

Fifth-year safety K'Von Wallace should now see an increased role in the Seahawks defense. Wallace has already been a contributor in three-safety packages alongside Love and Jenkins, recording 10 tackles and a forced fumble so far this season. Coby Bryant and Okada will likely serve as the primary backups with Jenkins sidelined.

Okada was a standout during the preseason, playing 134 total defensive snaps and logging 10 tackles and an interception. He originally signed with the Seahawks in 2023 after going undrafted out of Montana State. It's possible Okada will become a premium backup during Jenkins' absence.

Garror is a second-year pro who went undrafted out of Louisiana-Lafayette last season. He appeared in 12 games (four starts) last season with the Tennessee Titans and logged 22 tackles, one tackle for loss and two pass deflections.

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. / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Jenkins is the second Seahawks defender to be placed on IR in as many days, as veteran cornerback Artie Burns landed there on Tuesday. Edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu was also placed on IR on Oct. 8 after making his season debut in Week 5 and playing just 20 snaps versus the Giants before suffering a thigh injury. Offensive tackle George Fant has been on injured reserve since Sept. 21.

Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald gave other injury updates on Wednesday, per ESPN's Brady Henderson, but didn't mention the team's plan to sideline Jenkins. Among them were that defensive tackle Byron Murphy II should practice Wednesday, while cornerback Tre Brown won't. Cornerback Riq Woolen may not be back from his ankle injury he sustained in Week 5, either.

Seattle continues taking two steps forward and one step back health-wise, and Jenkins is the latest in a series of disappointing updates — especially defensively.

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