Damarious Randall has already been elevated from the practice squad twice to play in the Seahawks' past two games, and now the veteran safety has a spot on the 53-man roster, having been signed Wednesday to take the spot of safety Lano Hill, who was placed on injured reserve with a back injury that has kept him out of the past three games.
The Seahawks also added a pair of veteran linebackers to the practice squad, signing Mychal Kendricks, a 14-game starter for Seattle last season, and Ray-Ray Armstrong, an eight-year veteran who has appeared in 84 games over his career with the Cowboys, 49ers, Giants, Raiders, Rams and Browns.
Randall, a 2015 first-round pick with 56 career starts on his resume, signed to Seattle's practice squad ahead of the Week 4 game at Miami, and was elevated from the practice squad both for that game and the Week 5 win over Minnesota. Under a new rule this season, practice squad players can be elevated for game weekends without counting towards the 53-man roster limit, but can only do so twice, and Seahawks coach Pete Carroll indicated on Monday that this move could be coming with Randall.
"I hope we'll get to see more of Randall going forward," Carroll said. "He's a good ballplayer and he's been around us now enough as he's starting to dig in. So I'm excited about what he can add."
Carroll's Monday press conference also hinted that Hill's move to IR could be coming.
"Lano's got some issues with his back that haven't really turned in the right direction," Carroll said. "We're looking after him right now. He's not ready to come back yet."
Kendricks, a former second-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles, started 17 games for the Seahawks over the past two seasons after signing with the Seahawks late in the 2018 season, both at weakside and strongside linebacker. Last year Kendricks had 71 tackles, 3.0 sacks and one interception as Seattle's starting strongside linebacker, but tore his ACL in Week 17, causing him to miss Seattle's two playoff games.
Kendricks is the latest accomplished veteran to join Seattle's practice squad after Randall and former All-Pro defensive tackle Damon Harrison.
NFL practice squads were expanded from 10 to 16 players this season, and up to six of those spots can be held by veterans with any amount of experience. The Seahawks have been taking advantage of that as of late, adding players like Randall, Harrison and now Kendricks, who they hope can help them down the road.
Harrison is expected to be added to the 53-man roster at some point but, having not practiced since last season prior to signing two weeks ago, the Seahawks want to make sure he's game-ready before making that move. Carroll said on Monday that they needed to get through the week of practice before making a decision on Harrison's status for Sunday's game at Arizona.
