Seattle Seahawks punter Jon Ryan has seen hardly any action this preseason.
Jon Ryan waited.
And waited.
And kept waiting for a chance to do his job.
For two weeks in a row, Ryan stood on the Seattle Seahawks sideline as a spectator.
He was getting paid essentially to stand by and watch.
Then finally, in the fourth quarter of last week’s preseason game against Chicago, it happened.
Ryan got to jog on the field and punt after 16 consecutive offensive possessions by the Seahawks in which he was not needed.
“It’s rare,” Ryan said. “In my pro career with preseason and playoffs and everything, I’ve played over 200 games. I’ve never had a game where I didn’t kick. Then to come back the next week and only have one kick is pretty rare.”
Preseason is the time for teams to work on situations.
Yet Seattle has not had much of a chance to work on anything related to its punting.
Ryan had three punts in the opener against Denver, then didn’t kick at all in the second game against San Diego and was on the field only once last week against Chicago.
Most of his game action came as the holder for kicker Steven Hauschka as Seattle had a streak of scoring on nine consecutive possessions with quarterback Russell Wilson on the field.
It’s become the running joke among Ryan’s teammates that he’s gone missing. Fans have gone as far as putting Ryan’s picture on the side of a milk carton and posting the images to social media.
Sure, it is fun to joke about. But last season Seattle’s punt coverage was on the verge of an NFL record for fewest return yards allowed until Week 17. Trying to better that mark is the goal.
Notes
• Seattle made seven roster moves to reach the 75-man limit.
Linebacker Heath Farwell (groin), cornerback A.J. Jefferson (ankle) and guard C.J. Davis (calf) were placed on injured reserved. Wide receiver David Gilreath, linebacker Horace Miller and defensive tackle Michael Brooks were waived/injured and defensive back Eric Pinkins was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list.
• The Seahawks will forfeit two days of on-field minicamp practices next offseason after being penalized by the league for excessive physical contact during their 2014 minicamp. The league confirmed the penalties Tuesday. Seattle will be docked the first two days of its 2015 mandatory minicamp and will be permitted one 2½-hour practice on the final day.
Seattle’s players will be paid for all three days of the camp.
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