The Seahawks made an addition to their secondary Tuesday by agreeing to sign veteran cornerback Artie Burns to their 53-man roster from the practice squad. A league source confirmed that the signing is expected to become official on Wednesday.
There was no corresponding move that created the spot on the roster announced on Tuesday.
Burns has seen action in each of the first two games as a practice squad elevation, with 33 snaps overall playing in the nickel and dime defenses.
Players can be elevated off the practice squad only three times before having to be signed to the 53, so the Seahawks appear to be making a commitment to having Burns on the team for the rest of the season.
Burns, a first-round pick of the Steelers in 2016, was also on the active last season but played in just three games.
The move comes after starting right cornerback Riq Woolen left Sunday’s win over Detroit with a chest injury.
On Monday, coach Pete Carroll indicated that Woolen would not miss much time, if any. But adding Burns figures to at least give Seattle some additional depth.
“He’s still sore; he’s sore today,” Carroll said of Woolen on Monday. “We’re just one day at a time. There’s nothing that we need to do other than treat him, and then we see if he can make it back. We’ll take it one day at a time.”
Aside from Woolen and Burns, Seattle has five other players listed as cornerbacks on their roster — Tre Brown, Coby Bryant, Michael Jackson, Kyu Blu Kelly and Devon Witherspoon.
According to NFL transactions, the Seahawks on Tuesday released cornerback Robert Rochell and receiver Matt Landers off the practice squad.
But there were no corresponding moves announced. So that leaves three open spots on the 16-man practice squad.
The Seahawks return to practice on Wednesday to begin preparation for Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers.