Seahawks place Anthony Bradford on injured reserve

The Seattle Seahawks will be without their starting right guard for at least the next four games.

On Wednesday, the team placed Anthony Bradford on injured reserve, paving the way for safety Rodney Thomas II to go from the practice squad to the active roster. Bradford will not be eligible to return to the field until Week 7 against the Kansas City Chiefs on Oct. 25.

Bradford was initially ruled questionable with knee and hip injuries prior to last Sunday’s win over the Arizona Cardinals. Ominously, however, Bradford was downgraded from a limited participant to a non-participant in Friday’s practice, then he was ultimately ruled out altogether the following day.

Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald did reiterate that Bradford’s injuries are not season-ending, so he’ll be IR-designated for return. As far as a timetable, he believes it will be on the “shorter side” as opposed to long-term. In other words, closer to the four-week minimum than anything that keeps him out potentially until December, for example.

Christian Haynes and fifth-round rookie Beau Stephens split snaps in Bradford’s absence, with Haynes getting 43 snaps to Stephens’ 27. We’ll see if the rotation continues while Bradford is out, or if Haynes will finally be entrusted to start and play an entire game for the first time in his career. It’s a big opportunity for Haynes given the tough start to his career.