Starting Safety Placed on IR: What the Injury Means for the Seahawks
The Seahawks' secondary has been a depleted unit throughout the 2025 season. The group has performed well, but has had to navigate a crazy amount of injuries nine weeks into the season. Star cornerback Devon Witherspoon has missed several weeks. Rookie Nick Emmanwori was sidelined for multiple weeks, and Riq Woolen has missed time as well. Julian Love, the team's starting free safety, has already missed four games and, as of Saturday, has been placed on injured reserve.
Love has been dealing with a hamstring injury since Week Four and suffered a setback in his recovery, landing him on the IR. While the secondary has done well in his absence, missing Love for at least four games is quite the loss for Seattle. Love started all 17 games for the Seahawks in 2024, racking up 107 tackles and three interceptions. His time has been very limited in 2025, but he made an impact when on the field, notching a sack and two passes defended in his three games.
With Love sidelined, Seahawks fans are going to see a lot more Ty Okada. The third-year player out of Montana State has been filling in for Love over the past four weeks and has shown a lot of promise. Okada’s skills in coverage are not on the level of Love’s, but his versatility makes up for it. Mike Macdonald has had Okada lining up in the box, allowing him to be more useful in supporting the run.
While it’s likely that the Seahawks stick with Okada as Love’s replacement, there’s also still time for them to make a move before the trade deadline. Seahawks general manager John Schneider made big defensive moves at the deadline in 2023 and 2024, acquiring Leonard Williams and Ernest Jones IV. Could Schneider make another move to help bolster the team’s secondary? Both Williams and Jones have thrived in Seattle, so Schneider may try to work his deadline magic once again. Teams like the Saints and Browns are likely to be sellers at the deadline, so the Seahawks could potentially make a deal for a player like Grant Delpit or Tyrann Mathieu, who could provide an immediate upgrade at safety.
