The Seahawks are getting one player back from injured reserve, but losing another. Safety Tedric Thompson, Seattle's starting free safety during the first half of the season, was placed on injured reserve Wednesday with a shoulder injury.
In more positive news, tight end Ed Dickson has been designated for return from injured reserve. That means Dickson can now start practicing without counting toward the 53-man roster limit, but the Seahawks would have to make a move to add him to the roster before Sunday's game against Tampa Bay for him to play in that game. Filling Thompson's spot on the roster is veteran defensive end Dekoda Watson.
Thompson, who took over a starting role last year after Earl Thomas went down with a broken leg, started six games at safety this year, recording 19 tackles and two interceptions. Dickson, who joined the Seahawks as a free agent last year, had knee surgery in August, and his return became even more important after Will Dissly went down with a season-ending Achilles injury in Week 6.
"He's going to go this week," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said Monday of Dickson returning to practice. "We're bringing Ed back with the thought—give him the chance to practice with the chance to play. He's worked really hard leading up to this time through his rehab and all where he has been preparing for the workload. We're very optimistic that he could (play) if he can make it through the week. We've got to see how he handles the workload, but his mindset is on playing."
Watson, a seventh-round pick out of Florida State in 2010, most recently played for the San Francisco 49ers, appearing in four games last season and 14 in 2017. He has previously spent time with Denver, New England, Dallas, Jacksonville and Tampa Bay, recording 152 tackles and six sacks over nine seasons.