Report: Seahawks expect TE Will Dissly to be ready for Week 1

The good news keeps coming for the Seahawks in regards to their tight ends this week, as just one day after Seattle announced the signing of veteran Greg Olsen, it was reported that the team expects to have third-year tight end Will Dissly back for the first game of the regular season. NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero had the report Wednesday afternoon on NFL Network.

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When talking about Olsen signing with the Seahawks, Pelissero said to expect Dissly to be on the field in uniform come Week 1. Dissly tore his Achilles during Week 6 after a torrid start to 2019 that statistically put him among the best tight ends in the league.

“My understanding is they fully expect in Seattle for Will Dissly to be healthy and ready to go by Week 1 next season,” Pelissero said.

The #Seahawks signed Greg Olsen, and they expect Will Dissly to be ready Week 1, too. If both can stay healthy — a big if — that's quite a 1-2 TE mismatch punch for Russell Wilson. @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/qRQarUhe7T

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 19, 2020

And while that will be welcome news for the Seahawks organization and Seattle fans, there will of course be question marks going forward as well.

Dissly has played in just 10 games during his two NFL seasons, as he suffered season-ending injuries in both of them. In his rookie season, he tore his patellar tendon in Week 4 against the Arizona Cardinals and last season tore his Achilles in Week 6 against the Cleveland Browns.

When Dissly has played, he’s looked the part of an elite tight end.

Dissly was drafted in the fourth round (120th overall) out of the University of Washington. He started his collegiate career as a defensive lineman before moving to tight end his junior year. He had just 25 catches total during his two seasons as a tight end in college and was seen as an elite blocker. But he showed early on that he could be a factor in the passing game.

His rookie season started with a bang, catching three passes for 105 yards and a touchdown in a Week 1 loss to the Denver Broncos. He added another touchdown in Week 2 of 2018 against the Chicago Bears. He ended his rookie season with eight catches for 156 yards and two touchdowns in the four games he played, good for 19.5 yards per reception.

Dissly had just one catch in Week 1 of 2019 against the Cincinnati Bengals, but showed why Seattle missed him so much in a Week 2 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, catching five passes for 50 yards and two touchdowns. The next two weeks, he averaged roughly 60 yards per game and had a touchdown in each game.

While Dissly has had his injury concerns, so too has Olsen, who missed 16 games between 2017 and 2018 with foot injuries and two games in 2019 with a concussion. From 2014 to 2016, however, Olsen stayed healthy and had 1,000 yards in each season. He also made the Pro Bowl those three years and played in the Super Bowl in the 2015 season.

Yo @gregolsen88 welcome to the PNW!! TE room is going to be dangerous this year!!🤘🏼

— Will Dissly (@Will_Diss) February 18, 2020

Pairing Dissly and Olsen together makes a ton of sense, Pelissero explained.

“The downside here in terms of baseline for (the Seahawks signing) Greg Olsen is you bring in another guy (at tight end), you’re able to patch it together (with) two guys who are maybe going to get nicked up through the course of the season,” Pelissero said. “The upside is you potentially have Dissly and Olsen on the field together. That is a tough one-two punch that can create mismatches for opposing defenses.”

After the season ended, head coach Pete Carroll save a raving review of Dissly’s recovery.

“He’s killing it. He’s killing the rehab. Will is doing great,” Carroll said during his final press conference of the 2019 season. “He’s spending some time down in (Los Angeles) to get right, and he’s really fired up about the people that he’s working with and the progress he’s making. He’s been around a lot. He’ll get it done. Will will get it done. There’s no question he will. But, it’s a long process, it’s going to be some tough work for him.”

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