Seattle Seahawks tight end Elijah Arroyo will not be on the field any time soon.
The second-year player out of Miami suffered a shoulder injury while trying to recover Rashid Shaheed’s fumble in last Thursday’s loss to the Denver Broncos. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the injury is evidently severe enough to place him on injured reserve, which means missing at least four games. Seattle’s bye week is after the fourth game of that IR stint, so the earliest Arroyo could return is Week 12 at the San
Francisco 49ers on Thanksgiving weekend.
Arroyo had just two targets and one catch for 17 yards this season, all while generally splitting snaps with fellow backup tight end, Eric Saubert. It was notable that against the Broncos, the Seahawks not only made Nick Kallerup a game day active for the first time since Week 3, but Kallerup had already out-snapped Arroyo before the injury occurred.
The Seahawks selected Arroyo in the second round at No. 50 overall. Arroyo was lauded for his receiving skills, albeit with essentially one season of productivity. One of the cautions with Arroyo (outside of his blocking) was his health. In 2022, Arroyo tore his ACL severely enough that he only played four games in 2023. After missing no games in 2024, Arroyo hurt his knee at Senior Bowl and didn’t participate at the NFL Scouting Combine.
So far, injuries have impacted Arroyo in his NFL career. Toward the end of last regular season, Arroyo went to injured reserve after hurting his knee against the Atlanta Falcons, although he was activated in time for the NFC Championship Game. At least this injury isn’t another knee, but it’s nevertheless an unfortunate health setback for Arroyo.
The Seahawks practice on Monday, so we should get confirmation sooner rather than later that Arroyo will be out in the long term. Seattle signing Josiah Deguara to the practice squad figures to be insurance while Arroyo is sidelined.
