The Seattle Seahawks are bringing back a familiar face as the team announced the signing of center Joey Hunt to the practice squad. Seattle released former Kentucky cornerback Quandre Mosely to make room for Hunt.
The Seahawks also revealed that pass rusher L.J. Collier has been designated to return to practice. Collier missed the first four games of the season after being placed on injured reserve.
“That doesn’t necessarily mean Collier is set to return to game action this week—players can return to practice and not count towards the 53-man roster for up to three weeks before either being added to the roster or having to stay on IR for the season—but it is a positive sign of progress for Collier, who has been out with an elbow injury suffered during training camp,” Seahawks.com’s John Boyle wrote on October 5, 2022.
Hunt Started 8 Games for the Seahawks in 2019
Hunt gives the Seahawks a bit more insurance on the offensive line and a player the franchise has great familiarity with from his previous three seasons with the team. Seattle selected Hunt in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL draft, and the center was able to carve out a role on the offensive line.
Hunt appeared in 14 games, including eight starts, during his last season in Seattle in 2019. The veteran offensive lineman played in 34 games, including 11 starts, during his three years with the Seahawks before being released by Seattle during the 2020 offseason. Most recently, Hunt had several brief stints with the Colts but was cut by Indianapolis in January.
Smith Leads the NFL in Completion Percentage
The story of the Seahawks season has been the play of Geno Smith, who has a firm grip on the QB1 role after the training camp competition. Smith threw for 320 yards and two touchdowns while completing more than 76% of his passes against the Lions in Week 4. The Seahawks quarterback also added 49 rushing yards and a TD on the ground.
Smith leads all starting quarterbacks by completing 77.3% of his passes through the first month of the season. The veteran’s 108 quarterback rating ranks third among starting NFL signal-callers. Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll gushed about Smith’s performance in the team’s win over the Lions.
“Geno played spectacular football, spectacular football,” Carroll told reporters on October 2 after the Seahawks’ topped the Lions. “Not just the throwing and the catching, but the command of the game and running the whole show. He did an incredible job, and he ran the ball too for 50 yards or something.
“So, fantastic day. I don’t know how you can do a whole lot more, play a whole lot better than that.”
Hurtt on Seahawks D: ‘You Can Go Through Growing Pains & Not Give Up 45 Points’
The players love him. This at practice today with Ryan Neal is an example.
Hurtt echoes Pete Carroll saying Neal will play more, at dime DB
While Smith and the offense have exceeded expectations, the Seattle defense continues to be a point of concern. The Seahawks are giving up 28.8 points per game, the second most in the NFL. Seahawks defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt views the unit’s struggles as a combination of youth along with the transition to a new scheme.
“A lot of this right now was young guys that are playing, that are taking their lumps, but also doing a lot of good things as well,” Hurtt explained during an October 5 press conference. “I know obviously the standard of everyone, coaches, the players themselves included with that. You want everything to be great and [not] give up anything and shut everything down, but there’s going to be growing pains with young players [and] the introduction of a new scheme coming into it. So, you’re going through those things.
“But you can go through growing pains and not give up 45 points, at the end of the day. That’s never acceptable, I don’t care who’s out there, who’s coaching or whatever the case may be. So, just to finish the game in a better fashion.”
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