The Seattle Seahawks will be without left tackle Charles Cross and safety Coby Bryant on Sunday in Charlotte.
Cross (hamstring) and Bryant (knee) were both ruled out on the Seahawks’ final Week 17 injury report ahead of a road matchup with the Carolina Panthers, with Josh Jones expected to start again at left tackle and Ty Okada set to fill in for Bryant.
Seattle doesn’t have any other game-status designations, meaning the Cross and Bryant absences are the headline roster issues heading into kickoff.
Key details:
- OUT: LT Charles Cross (hamstring)
- OUT: S Coby Bryant (knee)
- Next men up: Josh Jones at LT; Ty Okada at safety
- No other Seahawks injury designations
Seahawks confirm Cross, Bryant won’t go vs. Carolina
Cross will miss a second straight game due to a hamstring injury, and Seattle’s injury report notes Bryant will miss his first game since mid-2023, ending a long games-played streak.
Head coach Mike Macdonald didn’t put a hard timeline on Bryant’s return, but he struck an optimistic tone about the longer-term outlook.
“It’s just a process on getting him back,” Macdonald said on December 26 at a press conference. “We’ve just got to go through it, but he’s working his tail off, and hopefully we’ll get him back soon.”
The Seahawks’ official injury report also reiterated that neither Cross nor Bryant is expected to require a stint on injured reserve, keeping the door open for a return as the season moves toward its finish.
By the numbers, Bryant has been on the field nearly every week: Pro-Football-Reference lists him at 977 defensive snaps (95.1%) through 15 games, plus 59 special-teams snaps .He’s posted 66 total tackles, 7 pass breakups, 4 interceptions, and 1 forced fumble in 2025. With Bryant out, Seattle loses one of its top ball-hawks. Ty Okada has 37 solo tackles, 1.5 sacks, and 1 INT this season.
What it means for Seattle’s lineup
On offense, the pressure point is obvious: protecting the blindside without Cross. Jones is expected to get another start at left tackle, and Macdonald said the team’s confidence level in Jones hasn’t changed,Seattle liked what it saw on film, but the baseline belief in what he can do was already there.
On defense, Bryant’s absence creates a ripple in the back end. Okada is expected to step into the starting role again, and Macdonald has emphasized the Seahawks’ interchangeability on defense when they have to reshuffle roles.
If Seattle can stabilize those two spots, the bigger picture is simple: survive the snap-to-snap grind in the trenches and avoid blown assignments in the secondary—two areas that get exposed fast on the road.
Extra roster context to watch after Week 17
One sneaky piece of “why this matters now” is roster mechanics. Seattle has been juggling injured reserve decisions, and Macdonald acknowledged the club has to weigh return timelines against the limited number of IR return designations.
Per Seahawks.com, the Seahawks have already used seven of their eight regular-season return slots, leaving one remaining for the regular season (plus two more in the postseason).
That’s worth tracking because it shapes how aggressive Seattle can be if more injury news hits late,or if someone’s return window suddenly opens.
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