After missing the last two weeks with a hamstring injury, versatile defensive back Quandre Diggs is expected to practice in full this week with plans to make his debut with the Seattle Seahawks on Monday night against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 10.
“We’re anticipating he’s gonna practice and go full-go,” coach Pete Carroll said on Monday. “We’ll see what happens with that. We’ll just take it one day at a time. But really excited to finally get him out there. He really hasn’t had a chance to do anything yet. Barely started a little bit the first couple days he was here and never even ran full speed. But he has worked out this past week.”
The Seahawks acquired Diggs at the trade deadline to bolster an area of need, but a lingering hamstring injury proved to be worse than the Seahawks thought when he was originally acquired, which has delayed his debut with the team.
It’s not clear how exactly the Seahawks plan to deploy Diggs just yet. He has played both strong and free safety in his career, and has extensive experience as a nickel cornerback as well.
Seattle is rolling with veteran Bradley McDougald and rookie Marquise Blair at strong and free safety, respectively, and veteran Jamar Taylor is playing nickel.
Blair has emerged as one of Seattle’s premier defensive players, earning a team high 81.1 grade from Pro Football Focus last game, so it seems unlikely he would get benched.
McDougald is one of Seattle’s most reliable players and a team leader, so his role is likely safe as well – making Taylor the potential odd man out.
However, Diggs hasn’t played nickel with any regularity since 2017, and asking him to learn a new defensive scheme while also playing a position he’s probably rusty at is a fairly tall order, especially in the middle of the season.
Diggs’ return will no doubt provide Seattle with much-needed depth and physicality in the secondary, regardless of where he plays. His status for Monday night’s game will be updated throughout the week.
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