RENTON, Wash. -- The 2010 season is done for Seattle defensive end Red Bryant and guard Ben Hamilton.
The Seahawks continued with their revolving roster door on Tuesday, placing Bryant and Hamilton on injured reserve, while also releasing fullback Quinton Ganther and cornerback Nate Ness.
The move to place Bryant on injured reserve confirms the seriousness of his right knee injury suffered in Sunday's 33-3 loss to Oakland and is a significant blow to the Seahawks defensive line. Bryant was moved from a tackle lost deep in the depth chart to a starter at defensive end and flourished in coach Pete Carroll's defensive system. Bryant had only 18 tackles and a sack through seven games, but his bigger impact was with Seattle's run defense, which ranks 10th in the NFL.
On Monday, Carroll announced that Bryant would be "out a while at best," and needed additional tests to determine the severity of his injury. Former San Francisco first-round pick Kentwan Balmer is expected to take Bryant's place beginning with this Sunday's game against the New York Giants.
Hamilton had what Carroll deemed a "significant" concussion against the Raiders. Signed from Denver in the offseason, Hamilton had started Seattle's last seven games at left guard. Chester Pitts, who saw his first action in over a year against the Raiders after coming back from microfracture knee surgery, will likely take Hamilton's spot.
To fill one of the open roster spots, Seattle signed former Houston defensive tackle Frank Okam, who was released by the Texans on Oct. 25. Okam was a fifth-round pick by the Texans in the 2008 draft and played in 13 career games for Houston.
Seattle also signed defensive end James Wyche to the practice squad and released linebacker Slade Norris. The Seahawks have now made 234 roster transactions since Feb. 12, a number that is likely to grow this week with Seattle still having three available spots on its 53-man roster.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
