The Seattle Seahawks already made one move to address concerns at the cornerback position with the suspension of Walter Thurmond and pending suspension of Brandon Browner.
Seattle signed Perrish Cox Tuesday to take Thurmond’s spot on the roster after the league officially announced the four-game suspension to Thurmond for a violation of the league’s substance-abuse policy.
Browner is facing a one-year suspension for a violation of the policy as well. However, his suspension is still on hold pending appeal.
Head coach Pete Carroll said the team will sign DeShawn Shead from their practice squad to presumably fill Browner’s spot on the roster.
Shead can play both cornerback and safety and is thought of highly by the team. Seattle is paying Shead a full roster salary despite only being on the practice squad. The difference is about $22,000 a week from what Shead is making compared to minimum salary for a practice squad player.
“He’s played safety and corner for us. He’s big and strong and he fits the mold of the guys that we like,” Carroll said. “He’s a playmaker and he’ll have a nice role on special teams. We won’t hesitate to play him in the game because we know how he’s prepared himself.”
Seattle could elect to just place Browner on injured reserve while his appeal is pending to free up a roster spot for Shead. He’s been dealing with a groin injury that Carroll said last week was expected to keep him sidelined for 4-6 weeks. With Shead on the practice squad, there isn’t a rush to actually make the move. Seattle can activate him at the end of the week in time to play Monday night against the New Orleans Saints.
The Seahawks have also inquired about bringing Antoine Winfield back to the team after releasing him at the end of training camp, but for now Seattle appears set to go forward with Cox and Shead as their reserve options.