Seahawks Elevating RB Alex Collins, CB Jayson Stanley to Play Against Bills

With Chris Carson, Carlos Hyde, and Shaquill Griffin already ruled out, Seattle will bring up reinforcements in the backfield and secondary for this weekend's road trip to Buffalo.

Needing reinforcements in the backfield and secondary for Sunday's upcoming matchup with the Bills, the Seahawks have elevated running back Alex Collins and cornerback Jayson Stanley from the practice squad.

Collins, who passed through COVID-19 testing protocols last week, signed with Seattle on Wednesday. According to coach Pete Carroll, the fifth-year back had a "very impressive" first week of practice and with Chris Carson and Carlos Hyde ruled out with injuries, he will now serve as a backup behind rookie DeeJay Dallas and Travis Homer.

"He kinda fell right back into the flow of things here and we feel very comfortable with him playing," Carroll said on Friday. "Even though he hasn't been practicing all this time, we feel pretty good about him. He's got his head in the right spot for it."

Originally drafted by the Seahawks as a fifth-round pick out of Arkansas, Collins rushed for 125 yards and a touchdown during his rookie season. After being released in final roster cuts before the 2017 season, he latched on with the Ravens and rushed for 1,384 yards and 13 touchdowns over the next two seasons.

On the morning of March 1, 2019, police officers arrested Collins when marijuana and a handgun were found in his car after being involved in an accident. Baltimore immediately cut ties with him and he received a three-week ban from the NFL.

Suffering a broken leg during his offseason training program, Collins didn't play a single down during the 2019 season and had remained unsigned until the running back-needy Seahawks came calling two weeks ago.

With Griffin out for a second straight week with a hamstring injury, Stanley will be promoted to the 53-man roster from the practice squad for the second consecutive week. He will serve as a backup behind starters Quinton Dunbar and Tre Flowers at the outside cornerback positions and also played receiver during training camp.

A second-year pro out of Georgia, Stanley made his NFL debut last weekend, playing 14 special teams snaps in Seattle's 37-27 win over San Francisco.