Brady Henderson, ESPN 6y

Seahawks place Nazair Jones on IR, promote tight end Tyrone Swoopes

Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Nazair Jones will finish his promising rookie season on injured reserve.

The Seahawks placed Jones on IR Saturday and signed undrafted rookie tight end Tyrone Swoopes off their practice squad. Swoopes' promotion to the active roster comes with backup tight ends Luke Willson (ankle) and Nick Vannett (back) both listed as questionable for Seattle's regular-season finale against the Arizona Cardinals, a game the Seahawks must win to have any shot at reaching the playoffs. Seattle also needs an Atlanta Falcons loss.

Jones had been a productive member of Seattle's defensive line rotation before suffering a high ankle sprain that sidelined him for the past four games. A third-round pick out of North Carolina, Jones began his career with a splash when he picked off Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the opener. Jones ran the interception back for what would have been a touchdown had the score not been negated by an iffy block-in-the-back penalty. It was the first regular-season snap of Jones' career.

He recorded two sacks and three passes defended while averaging around 26 snaps in the 11 games he played in before hurting his ankle.

"We really do miss him," coach Pete Carroll said Friday. "He was making plays. He was making things happen, knocking balls down and getting penetration and being active and chasing the ball. He was doing a lot of great things for us and so he is a terrific draft pick from last year's draft class and we’ve had to go without him."

Swoopes is an intriguing prospect. He played quarterback at Texas and finished his four-year career with the Longhorns with more rushing touchdowns (24) than passing (17). At 6-foot-4 and around 247 pounds, he reportedly ran the 40-yard dash in 4.65 seconds at Texas' pro day. He hadn't played tight end at any level when Seattle began converting him to that position this past offseason after signing him as an undrafted free agent.

Carroll said Willson suffered a "minor" sprain when he turned his ankle in practice this week, calling him a game-time decision. Vannett was added to Seattle's injury report after Carroll met with the media, so the severity of his injury and his chances of playing Sunday aren't clear.

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