RENTON -- Ed Dickson's season is over before it even got started.
The Seahawks placed the veteran tight end back on injured reserve just two days after activating him. Dickson had a knee surgery in August that led to his placement on the injured list at the start of the regular season. He was designated to return to practice on Oct. 30 and spent the two weeks ahead of Seattle's bye working out with the team.
Dickson had to be activated from injured reserve by Wednesday when his 21-day practice window expired. That move was made as cornerback Jamar Taylor was released to open a roster spot for Dickson.
The move should have been a positive one for the Seahawks. Luke Willson is doubtful to play against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday due to a hamstring strain sustained against the San Francisco 49ers before the bye. Jacob Hollister was the only true tight end on the roster with George Fant also capable of playing the spot in a jumbo lineman capacity. Dickson would have given Seattle the needed depth at the position for the game in Philadelphia this weekend.
"We stepped up his work in the first couple days knowing that we're earnestly working to get ready and he's just not ready," head coach Pete Carroll said on Friday. "It's unfortunate and I feel bad for him and all. It's just the right thing to do. He's not ready to play yet. He was ready to get back to practice. He did that. When we pushed up we could tell.
"He's just got to totally get all the way back. He's back far enough where he can run and move and do stuff but he doesn't have full... Whatever it is there's something that's not quite right and we're going to figure that out now that he hasn't quite made it back where he can explode off it the way he needs to. It's just not right to put him out there."
Instead, Dickson is back on the injured list and Tyrone Swoopes has been promoted from the practice squad to fill that vacancy.
Head coach Pete Carroll had declared Dickson ready to go for the last two weeks but the team had held off on bringing him back to the roster due to positional needs elsewhere. Dickson himself said Wednesday that he was prepared to play up 40 snaps against the Eagles this weekend, if needed. He now won't play even one snap for the Seahawks this season.
Swoopes has appeared in two career games for Seattle with one appearance in each of the last two seasons. He caught one pass for 23 yards last year in London against the Oakland Raiders.
"He's been in the program. He's been doing stuff. He knows what he's doing and we feel very, very confident putting him in," Carroll said. "Last time he played was all the way back against the Raiders and he did well in that game. We really feel good that he's a guy that's stepping up because he's got all the background with us. We can do a lot of stuff with him."
Tyler Lockett set to play against Eagles; Jadeveon Clowney, Neiko Thorpe questionable:
Wide receiver Tyler Lockett practiced all week and is expected to play against the Eagles on Sunday in Philadelphia.
Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney and cornerback Neiko Thorpe are questionable.
Lockett bounced back from the leg contusion he sustained against the San Francisco 49ers that forced him to be evaluated in a Bay Area hospital an additional two nights. He was limited in practice all week but is ready to play against the Eagles on Sunday.
"It turned out fine," Carroll said. "We weren't sure. We had to wait and see. ... It really was for his own confidence as much as anything. At this point, it's not a dangerous injury now. He has a real contusion in his lower leg that just needed some time and there was enough time fortunately. We had the week off. I don't know if he would have made it now if we had played last week. That would have been hard to see that happen but he's ready to go now so he's fine."
Meanwhile, Clowney has not practiced this week due to hip and foot injuries. He was away from the team on Friday getting treatment for his hip issue.
"He's questionable at this point with a sore hip. He had a little off-campus treatment. We'll see how he is on game day," Carroll said.
Clowney had a knee injury listed ahead of the team's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was then listed with toe and knee injuries ahead of the 49ers game. Despite having the week off for the team's bye week, Clowney has not been able to practice the last two days with the injuries at hand being hip and foot issues.
"It was perfect timing," Clowney said of the bye on Wednesday. "I think we were all a little banged up going into the last game. Everybody was looking forward to the bye. Came at a perfect time. Now, we’ve just got to come back and pick up where we left off. Continue to try to keep the ball rolling."
However, Carroll said that Clowney felt the issue in his hip coming out of the game against the 49ers and would need to go through pregame workouts to show he's capable of playing.
"We're checking him out, making sure he's OK," Carroll said.
Clowney is coming off of his best performance of the season against the 49ers. Clowney hit 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo five times, sacked him once, and had a forced fumble and a fumble return for a touchdown. Clowney’s pressure also forced Garoppolo into two additional sacks by Al Woods and Poona Ford and several incompletions.
The Eagles ruled out right tackle Lane Johnson due to a concussion with first-round rookie Andre Dillard out of Washington State set to get the start in his place. Clowney's presence in the lineup could be significant against one of the better offensive lines in football that will be short-handed on Sunday.
Injury Report:
Photo Credit: SEATTLE, WA - DECEMBER 23: Ed Dickson #84 of the Seattle Seahawks catches the ball against Steven Nelson #20 of the Kansas City Chiefs during the third quarter of the game at CenturyLink Field on December 23, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)