With the deadline to trim NFL rosters down to 80 players looming on Tuesday, the Seahawks have placed receiver John Ursua and linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven on season-ending injured reserve and waived quarterback Alex McGough and defensive tackle Cedrick Lattimore.
As confirmed through an MRI, Ursua and Burr-Kirven suffered torn ACLs during Saturday's exhibition loss to the Broncos. Ursua injured his knee on a non-contact play after crumpling to the turf at the top of his route, while Burr-Kirven badly hyperextended his knee after being shoved on the game's opening kickoff. Both players were carted off the field and immediately ruled out.
Ursua, 27, was competing for a final roster spot at the receiver position while also seeing action at practice as a kick returner. Burr-Kirven had seen action with the first-team during training camp at middle linebacker and was expected to resume his role as one of the team's key special teams contributors.
Needing to open up two additional spots to meet NFL requirements, Seattle decided to move on from McGough, who struggled in two preseason games. Playing the entire first half against Denver, the former seventh-round pick out of Florida International threw two interceptions and also lost a fumble, leading to 10 points for the opposition.
The Seahawks also waived Lattimore, a second-year defensive tackle out of Iowa. After impressing in his NFL debut during a playoff loss to the Rams in January, he was expected to be in the mix for a reserve spot behind Poona Ford, Bryan Mone, and Al Woods. However, he wasn't able to build off of that performance and fell down the depth chart during training camp, recently losing reps to undrafted rookie Jarrod Hewitt.
Along with McGough and Lattimore, Seattle waived tight end Dom Wood-Anderson on Sunday. The former Tennessee tight end dropped multiple passes and drew five penalties in two preseason games, making his departure an inevitable one despite Colby Parkinson and Tyler Mabry currently being sidelined by injuries.
With one preseason game remaining, other moves could soon be coming, but for now, the Seahawks are in compliance with only 80 players on the roster. They will need to trim down to 53 players by August 31.
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