Seahawks Place Jonathan Bullard on COVID-19/Reserve List
In a surprise move hours before kickoff against the Rams in the Wild Card round, the Seahawks placed defensive end Jonathan Bullard on the COVID-19/reserve list. In a corresponding move, the team elevated defensive tackle Cedrick Lattimore to the game day roster.
Bullard's designation does not guarantee he had a positive test for the virus. The team may be conducting close contact protocols as they did with tackle Brandon Shell and safety Damarious Randall last week.
While Bullard hasn't been active since a Week 14 win over the Jets and has only eight tackles on the season, his absence could be a bigger deal than anticipated heading into the Seahawks playoff opener on Saturday. Defensive tackle Jarran Reed is expected to start, but he has been dealing with an oblique injury suffered last weekend and missed practice time this week.
With Reed potentially limited by his injury, the 290-pound Bullard would have been in line for extensive snaps as a rotational 3-tech defensive tackle. But with him now unavailable, depth has been further compromised, leaving L.J. Collier, Rasheem Green, and the untested Lattimore as the only reserve options behind Reed and Poona Ford.
Though Collier and Green have played quite a bit reduced inside this season, both players are under 285 pounds and aren't necessarily suited to play the position on early downs. As for Lattimore, the undrafted rookie out of Iowa has been on the practice squad all season and hasn't dressed for an NFL game, let alone played in one. His last football game came with the Hawkeyes in the Holiday Bowl against USC in December 2019.
