It’s been three months, but is the Seahawks’ starting secondary about to get whole?
The team designated Julian Love to practice from injured reserve on Wednesday. He was on the field for the start of drills four days before Seattle (9-3) plays the Falcons (4-8) in Atlanta Sunday (10 a.m., FOX television, channel 13 locally). That’s the next step in the Pro Bowl veteran safety playing for the first time since week four, Sept. 25 at Arizona.
Seattle also designated veteran defensive tackle Jarran Reed and wide receiver Dareke Young to return to practice off IR.
Wednesday begins Love’s, Reed’s and Young’s 21-day window of practicing before the team must put them on the active roster to play or put on season-ending injured reserve.
The Seahawks have one opening on its 53-man active roster.
On the possibility of adding Love, Reed or Young to the roster to play the Falcons this weekend, coach Mike Macdonald said before practice Wednesday: “We’ll either do it this week, or we’ll do it another week.”
He said that with a wry grin.
Love has played in only three of the first 12 games because of a hamstring injury. He went on injured reserve Nov. 1. He became eligible to return to practice last week. But Macdonald said then Love had a setback in his return.
Macdonald hinted Love may not be ready to play Sunday at Atlanta.
“We have a plan for him this week in terms of how he practices. But we feel great where he’s at,” the coach said.
“Let’s say everything went perfect to plan, when (you’ve been out that long) you’ve got to have a ramp(-up time) back in.”
When Love was playing in those three games in September, the Seahawks were without Pro Bowl cornerback Devon Witherspoon because of his knee injury and rookie safety Nick Emmanwori because of his high-ankle sprain.
Witherspoon and the do-it-all Emmanwori (even at defensive end) have been back.
Love could be re-joining them for the final stretch in Seattle’s quest for the NFC West title.
The Seahawks haven’t had their entire starting secondary playing together since the fifth play of the season. That’s when Emmanwori got hurt, early in the team’s opening game Sept. 7 against San Francisco.
Reed was on the field with his fellow defensive linemen in position drills at the start of practice Wednesday. The 32-year-old veteran had two surgeries to repair a wrist issue he played with through October.
Macdonald said that’s just been a healing issue for the defensive tackle, as opposed to the ramp-up situation Love is in.
“There on different timetables,” Macdonald said.
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