The Seattle Seahawks officially placed cornerback Neiko Thorpe (sports hernia) on the injured reserve, ending his season. Thorpe’s roster spot went to fellow defensive back Ryan Neal, who was promoted from the practice squad to take his place.
Neal was originally an undrafted free agent out of Southern Illinois. He spent time with the Falcons last season, appearing in one game, but has been on Seattle’s practice squad since Week 1 of the season.
He’ll likely take over as a special teams contributor for the Seahawks in place of Thorpe, who has served as the team’s special teams captain for the past few years.
Seattle also added running back Xavier Turner to the practice squad to take the place of Neal. Turner is added depth at running back, following the ACL injury suffered by Rashaad Penny on Sunday night.
Turner spent part of the preseason with the Seahawks, appearing in all four preseason games and rushing 17 times for 71 yards.
Penny is expected to be placed on the injured reserve, likely to clear room for offensive lineman Ethan Pocic to be activated from IR.
