By Bob Condotta
The Seattle Times
The Seahawks made a roster move Tuesday involving a pair of 2019 draft picks, activating offensive lineman Phil Haynes off the physically unable to perform (PUP) list to the 53-man roster while waiving receiver Gary Jennings.
Haynes, a fourth-round pick out of Wake Forest, was an early surprise in the spring, spending a few workouts with the number one offense at left guard, before undergoing sports hernia surgery that had him sidelined when training camp began.
This week marked the deadline for the team to activate Haynes off the PUP list or have to place him on season-ending injured reserve, and the Seahawks made the move Tuesday to put him on the roster. Haynes has been practicing for the last three weeks.
Haynes gives Seattle nine offensive linemen on its current 53-man roster and depth at guard where both of veteran starters D.J. Fluker and Mike Iupati have at times battled injuries (each has missed at least one game this season).
Jennings, a fourth-round pick out of West Virginia, has struggled to find his footing with the team this season and was not active on game day for any of the first nine games of the season.
The addition late last week of Josh Gordon gave Seattle eight receivers, three of whom were inactive on game day (Jennings, Gordon and John Ursua) and it seemed a given that the Seahawks would not go too much longer with eight receivers on their 53-man roster.
Seattle will likely try to re-sign Jennings to the practice squad. But he is now subject to waivers and any team can claim him to its 53-man roster. If he goes unclaimed then he becomes a free agent and can sign with any team’s practice squad, or to the 53-man on a new contract.
With Iupati out for a time during organized team activities in May, Haynes worked with the first team offense alongside veteran Duane Brown, who called him a “pleasant surprise.”
“He’s a big, strong guy,” Brown said in May of Haynes. “He’s catching on pretty quickly. He’s got a great demeanor. A lot of times, this kind of atmosphere can be overwhelming, being given so much information, the speed right now, you’re not used to practicing without pads on so fast and everything’s happening so quickly, but he’s handling everything well. Today he was in there with the ones and played next to me and communicated great.”
Rookie defensive tackle Demarcus Christmas also remains on the PUP list and the Seahawks will have to either activate him or place him on season-ending IR by the end of the week.
Seattle also made a move to its practice squad Tuesday, re-signing defensive tackle Bryan Mone and releasing receiver Cody Thompson.
