Getty The Seahawks signed Demarcus Christmas to their practice squad.
Heading into the season, the Seattle Seahawks were thin at defensive tackle and made a roster move to add depth going into Week 2. The Seahawks announced they have signed Demarcus Christmas, and the team released wide receiver Lance Lenoir to make room for the defensive tackle on the practice squad.
Christmas had at least two visits with the Seahawks dating back to training camp. The Seahawks hosted Christmas along with former Chiefs defensive end Breeland Speaks earlier this week. So far, it appears as though Christmas is the only addition to the Seahawks roster prior to their matchup against the Patriots.
The relaxed practice squad rules give Christmas a clearer path to making the active roster than a typical season. According to Sports Illustrated’s Corbin Smith, Christmas marks the third defensive tackle on the Seahawks practice squad.
The Seahawks Selected Christmas in the 6th Round of the 2019 NFL Draft
It is a return to the Seahawks for Christmas who was selected by Seattle in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Christmas played his college career at Florida State and his former coach Jimbo Fisher praised him after one particular play where the defensive tackle ran 50 yards to tackle Lamar Jackson when he was the Louisville quarterback.
“You see the desire to play, the heart, the energy, the love to play,” Fisher told the Orlando Sentinel in 2017. “There’s no quit. … It was an unbelievable effort on the play. That shocked me when he did it. I had to double take and say: Was that Christmas? All the way down there to 50 yards away.”
Field Gulls reported that Christmas missed all of last season with an injury and the Seahawks brought back the defensive lineman shortly after he had a visit with the Lions.
Pete Carroll on Seahawks Defense: ‘We’re Coming Out to Knock the Hell Out of You’
The Seahawks defense gave up a lot of passing yards to the Falcons in Week 1 but overall looked improved from last season. Jamal Adams made his presence felt immediately, and Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll praised the physicality of the team’s defense.
“The nature of these guys, they’re going for it,” Carroll explained, per Seahawks.com. “I love it. I love the way we were able to show first time out how we like to play the game. There’s a lot of improvement to be had, but I’m glad that the message was clear, that we’re coming out to knock the hell out of you when you play us. That was fun.”
After missing out on re-signing Jadeveon Clowney, the team is hoping the defensive line can take a step forward with the addition of Benson Mayowa and the improvement of L.J. Collier. Carroll described the team’s hard-hitting tackles in Week 1 as “really noticeable.”
“I thought it was really noticeable,” Carroll noted, via Seahawks.com. “I thought Bobby played his best game pass-defense wise than he’s played. He was the most active and most obviously on point with the breaks he was making. He impacted our play quite a bit. You couldn’t miss the play by Jamal running and hitting. I thought (Quandre) Diggs had some good top-offs and some nice plays, too, as well as the rest of the guys—Marquise for sure, and Lano Hill, all those guys made some hits. Having all the speed on the field, we’re faster than we’ve been, and I think it shows up in our pursuit.”
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