Huard: How Arroyo’s return could boost Seahawks’ offense

Jan 10, 2026, 12:36 PM | Updated: 7:02 pm

Seattle Sports

After a high-octane start to the season, the Seattle Seahawks’ offense hit a bit of a rut over the back half of the year.

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Much of that was due to opposing defenses placing a greater priority on slowing down superstar wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Seattle’s explosive passing attack.

But there also were some injuries to a pair of field-stretching threats in rookie wide receiver Tory Horton and rookie tight end Elijah Arroyo.

Horton is likely out for the season with a shin injury, but Arroyo was designated to return to practice Wednesday after spending four weeks on injured reserve with a knee injury. Arroyo’s return to practice gives him time to gear up for the top-seeded Seahawks’ NFC Divisional Round matchup on either Jan. 17 or Jan. 18.

With impressive speed and athleticism for his 6-foot-5, 254-pound frame, Arroyo totaled 15 catches for 179 yards and a touchdown in 13 games this season. The second-round pick out of Miami had four receptions of 20-plus yards, which was fourth on the team behind Smith-Njigba (27), wideout Cooper Kupp (8) and running back Kenneth Walker III (5).

The rest of Seattle’s tight end room combined for three 20-plus-yard receptions, with all three belonging to No. 1 tight end AJ Barner.

During Thursday’s Blue 88 segment on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk, former NFL quarterback Brock Huard discussed how Arroyo’s field-stretching ability could boost the Seahawks as they take aim at their first Super Bowl in 11 years.

“Maybe (the offensive rut) was just some of the bumpy road with Sam (Darnold) in the final quarter of the season,” Huard said. “Maybe Arroyo had nothing to do with that. Or maybe he did, because when he was in there for the first (13 games), it wasn’t quite that bumpy and there was a lot more spreading the field.

“AJ and the other (tight ends), they don’t have the stretching ability that he does – the verticality, the deep overs and just the speed. … And that makes a difference in stretching everything for everybody else. So if he can get back to full speed, that’s another nice piece to have on the chess board.”

Listen to the full Blue 88 segment at this link or in the audio player at the bottom of this story. Tune into Brock and Salk weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.