Seahawks inactives: Starting CB Quinton Dunbar out with knee injury

Sep 27, 2020, 12:26 PM | Updated: 12:36 pm

Starting Seahawks CB Quinton Dunbar is out against the Cowboys with a knee injury. (Getty)

(Getty)

BY BRANDON GUSTAFSON

Seattle Sports

The Seahawks have taken another big hit to their secondary.

The 3 Questions: Can Hawks’ defense turn things around vs. Dallas?

Not only is starting nickel cornerback Marquise Blair out for the season with a torn ACL he suffered in Week 2, but starting outside cornerback Quinton Dunbar is out against the Cowboys with a knee injury, as is backup cornerback and special teams captain Neiko Thorpe, who has a hip injury. Both were listed as questionable on Friday, and Seahawks general manager John Schneider said on the Seahawks pregame show that Dunbar’s knee swelled up late in the week.

The Seahawks’ secondary was already facing a tough task against an explosive Dallas offense, and many expect the game to be a shootout.

Dunbar beat out Tre Flowers, who has started for the Seahawks at cornerback the last two years, during training camp and recorded an interception in a Week 2 win against the Patriots. Now, Flowers will be thrust back into the starting role opposite Pro Bowler Shaquill Griffin.

Today’s @Seahawks inactives: pic.twitter.com/iGPqTd28GO

— Seahawks PR (@seahawksPR) September 27, 2020

Dunbar was a limited participant at practice on Wednesday and Thursday before being held out Friday. Thorpe was limited Wednesday, practiced fully Thursday and was held out Friday.

Also ruled out for the Seahawks: backup interior offensine lineman Kyle Fuller, who was suspended for the first two games of the 2020 season; backup tackle Cedric Ogbuehi, who has yet to play in 2020 due to a pectoral injury; tight end Luke Willson, who hasn’t played much on offense this season because of the presence of Greg Olsen, Will Dissly and Jacob Hollister at tight end; and finally, safety Lano Hill.

Hill is a bit of surprise as the Seahawks’ safety and overall secondary depth is thin due and he was not on the Seahawks’ injury report at all this week. Schneider said on radio that Hill woke up with a sore hip Sunday morning and that’s why he’s inactive against the Cowboys.

Hill played quite a bit last week as starting free safety Quandre Diggs was ejected for a helmet-to-helmet hit. Blair moved back to safety from nickel corner before he tore his ACL in the second half of the game. Hill played a major role in the final play, helping set the edge by lowering his pads into New England’s fullback to help stop quarterback Cam Newton short of the goal line.

With Dunbar, Thorpe and Hill out, that leaves starting safeties Jamal Adams and Diggs, cornerbacks Griffin, Flowers, Ugo Amadi, Linden Stephens (who was promoted to the active roster recently) and Ryan Neal, who is active from the practice squad for this game, as the active members of the secondary for Week 3.

For the Cowboys, the most notable inactive is starting left tackle Tyron Smith, a seven-time Pro Bowler. He is out with a neck injury and didn’t practice this week. The rest of their inactives are reserves/backups. The full list is available below.