Elijah

Arroyo

Arroyo was not targeted as he made his postseason debut after battling a knee injury. The No. 50 overall pick of the draft, Arroyo ended up languishing behind second-year fourth-rounder AJ Barner. Arroyo caught more than two passes one time all year, and was a non-factor for the season’s stretch run. Arroyo is young (23 in April) at a complex position, but so is Barner. Arroyo’s draft pedigree means he should maintain some long-term benefit of the doubt in dynasty leagues, but 2026 seems unlikely to be the year he breaks out in fantasy football.

With Kallerup out of the lineup, Seahawks second-round rookie TE Elijah Arroyo will make his postseason debut. Arroyo has been impacted by a late-season knee injury. He will likely operate as the team’s No. 3 tight end today. Ouzts, a fan favorite, is sidelined by a neck injury. Milroe is inactive, but will serve as the emergency third quarterback.

Arroyo is a surprise scratch after being activated from injured reserve earlier this week. The rookie tight end logged a full week of practice and was removed from the team’s final injury report, so it’s hard to say why the team opted to sit him for Sunday’s championship game against the Rams. AJ Barner could be in line to see a bigger workload with Arroyo out. In addition to Arroyo the Seahawks also declared LB Jared Ivey, OG Christian Haynes, OT Amari Kight, FB Robbie Ouzts, QB Jalen Milroe, and RB Velus Jones inactive against the Rams.

He’ll play in the NFC Championship game, though his role might be small. Arroyo has been sidelined since Week 14 and hasn’t drawn more than two targets since Week 7’s win over the Texans. Perhaps the Seahawks will scheme up some downfield shots to him — the fact that they’re barely doing that with a healthy Rashid Shaheed probably makes Arroyo a stay-away in DFS contests this weekend.

The Seahawks designated Arroyo to return from injured reserve on January 7th, opening his 21-day practice window. Evidently, he is not yet ready to resume playing, though he was able to practice fully all week. If the Seahawks beat the 49ers and advance to the NFC Championship Game, Arroyo seemingly has decent odds of making a return.

Arroyo was placed on injured reserve after suffering a knee injury in Week 14 but is nearing a return after a full practice on Tuesday. He was designated to return last week and looks to be in good shape to return to his rotational tight end role for the Divisional Round against the 49ers. With AJ Barner (hip) also fully practicing, the Seahawks tight end room is in good shape for the playoffs.

Speaking to media Monday evening, Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald told reporters that rookie tight end Elijah Arroyo “looked good” in his return to practice last week, his first time on the field since seeing his 21-day practice window opened as he attempts to return from injured reserve. Macdonald added that there is a chance Arroyo makes it back in time for their Divisional Round game against the 49ers after the team enjoyed a bye week following securing the No. 1 seed out of the NFC. While not necessarily likely to contribute elite counting stats, Arroyo could return to 40-50% of the team’s offensive snaps as a pass-catching specialist.

Arroyo missed the last four games after suffering a knee injury. The 22-year-old notably fell in the 2025 NFL Draft due to concerns over knee-related issues, but Arroyo is not yet being relied upon as a featured pass catcher. The Seahawks should be able to bring him along slowly, given starting TE AJ Barner’s presence and their first-round playoff bye. Thus far, Arroyo has caught 15-of-24 targets for 179 yards and one touchdown. The Seahawks have 21 days to evaluate him in practice before officially activating him from injured reserve.

Arroyo sustained a knee injury last week and was sent to season-ending injured reserve. That leaves AJ Barner as the only healthy pass-catching tight end for Seattle. He makes for a usable streaming option in 12-team leagues against a Colts defense that has been vulnerable to tight ends for much of the season.

Arroyo has been ruled out, as expected, after injuring his knee last week. Seahawks starting TE AJ Barner is a TE1 streaming option, though his weekly box score results have been very volatile. Barner occasionally takes snaps as the team’s tush-push quarterback.