Seahawks Designate OL Ethan Pocic for Return from Injured Reserve

As expected, Seattle plans to activate Pocic before the end of the season to bolster offensive line depth.

On an otherwise slow Thanksgiving holiday, the Seahawks made an expected move to improve offensive line depth entering the final month of the season.

According to Field Yates of ESPN, Seattle designated versatile offensive lineman Ethan Pocic for return from injured reserve. He’ll be able to return to practice immediately but won’t be eligible to activate to the 53-man roster until a Week 14 road matchup against Carolina.

The Seahawks have designated OL Ethan Pocic to return from IR, per source. He opened the season as a starter for Seattle prior to a back injury.

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) November 28, 2019

Pocic, 24, started in place of injured guard Mike Iupati in Seattle’s season opener and played a few snaps in place of D.J. Fluker against Pittsburgh in Week 2. However, he missed several games battling through a neck injury and landed on injured reserve shortly before a Week 6 contest in Cleveland.

A 2017 second-round selection out of LSU, Pocic flashed promise as a rookie, starting 11 games for the Seahawks at both guard positions. But an ankle injury suffered early in the 2018 season eventually cost him his starting job at left guard, as veteran J.R. Sweezy played well and stayed in the lineup.

With starting center Justin Britt done for the year with a torn ACL, Pocic should provide an immediate upgrade behind Joey Hunt upon his return and could even compete for playing time. Currently, third-year lineman Jordan Roos is listed as the backup center despite having zero game experience at the position.

Pocic becomes the second Seahawk to be designated for return from injured reserve this season. Tight end Ed Dickson returned to practice in late October, but the team placed him back on injured reserve just one day after activating him with lingering knee issues.