Seattle Seahawks sign former-first round pick Robert Nkemdiche to 53-man roster

The Seattle Seahawks signed former first-round pick Robert Nkemdiche today after renouncing quarterback Jake Luton. Nkemdiche was a training squad in the team’s 53-man squad for two games this season, but had to be increased permanently if he wanted to play this weekend and beyond.

Nkemdiche, 27, is no stranger to the NFL. In the 2016 NFL Draft, Nkemdiche was voted No. 29 overall by the Arizona Cardinals. In his early NFL seasons, Nkemdiche struggled to find a role for himself after losing only 12 tackles and one tackle between 2016 and 2017. In the 2018 season, Nkemdiche had 4.5 sacks in his career.

“It wasn’t fun,” said Nkemdiche in June of his past problems. But as I said, to be here again is exciting for me. This is what I love to do. I’m just happy to have the opportunity to be here again and play football again. “

“Being here with these guys and competing and playing football, smelling the grass, I missed all of that,” he said at the time. “That’s the fun stuff.”

In June 2019, Nkemdiche was arrested on a pending arrest warrant after being stopped for speeding on his way to a Cardinals practice. Cardinal head coach Kingsbury cliff said the defensive lineman, who was reported out of shape at training camp that summer, and he was released with a failed physical designation.

Nkemdiche signed with the Miami Dolphins but was given up after two games. As a free agent, he was banned from two games for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.

Nkemdiche signed a one-year deal with the Seahawks worth $ 990,000 just before the NFL Draft. Nothing in the deal was guaranteed.

“He’s got a really good mind,” said Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said in June. “He’s upbeat, he’s active, he’s explosive and has really good pace, he weighs over 300 pounds and he moves really well. He’s going to be a real competitive part of this group and he’s a bit different from some of the other guys so we’re seeing some flexibility in where we can play and move him. “

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The Seahawks (1-2) travel to the San Francisco 49ers (2-1) at 4:05 p.m. ET on Sunday.