Brady

Russell

Fant remains out due to a groin injury he suffered in Week 8. He has yet to practice since suffering the injury, leaving rookie AJ Barner as the starting tight end. Fellow TE Brady Russell (foot) was also listed as DNP while TE Pharaoh Brown (elbow) was a full participant. No Seahawks tight end options are appealing at this point of the season.

By this point, Fant starting out the week limited due to his toe injury is becoming a trend. Don’t be surprised if you see him limited again next week, barring any setbacks he should still play Week 3. Pharaoh Brown (foot) was also limited, while special teamer Brady Russell (shoulder) missed practice. The Seahawks’ tight end room has been a bit underwhelming this season, with Fant being the best option as a back-end TE2.

Smith was drafted by the Seahawks last year but landed on injured reserve before the start of his rookie season. The former fifth-round pick was a part-time player at Ohio State who struggled to stay on the field because of injuries. That has clearly followed him to the majors, though another team will undoubtedly take a shot on him. Seattle signed tight end Brady Russell from their practice squad in a corresponding move.

Russell (6'3"/250) battled his heart out but couldn’t prevent his team from getting blown out. Both of his big receiving plays set up Colorado’s touchdowns. The first was a PA roll out that found Russell on the sideline, and he simply refused to go down, running through multiple tacklers and grinding his way to a 13 yard gain that made it first and goal. The second was a 65 yard catch and run where Russell found himself alone in space on the right side of the field and took the medium pass another 50+ yards before getting chased out of bounds a the USC 9. Colorado will need to scheme more plays for Russell during their bye next week before facing Arizona on October 16th.

Russell (6'3/255) had surgery in mid-November for an ankle injury sustained against Stanford on November 14. The Buffaloes tight end had a big game against UCLA the week prior, catching five passes for 77 yards and a touchdown. He had been expected to occupy an important role in the CU offense this year, and will be sorely missed this Tuesday against Texas.

Russell had surgery in mid-November for an ankle injury sustained against Stanford on November 14. The Buffaloes tight end had a big game against UCLA the week prior, catching five passes for 77 yards and a touchdown. He had been expected to occupy an important role in the CU offense this year, and will be a welcomed addition if he can indeed return for bowl season.

After catching five passes for 77 yards and a touchdown in Colorado’s season-opening win over UCLA, Russell (6'3/255) departed this past weekend’s game early after injuring his ankle. He will now miss at least a couple weeks, HC Karl Dorrell revealed on Wednesday. Redshirt senior Matt Lynch, who was listed as Russell’s backup on the depth chart, will likely slide into the starting role. With its game against Arizona State canceled due to COVID-19 cases within the ASU program, Colorado is off until November 28 when it visits USC.

Russell (6'3/255) injured his ankle during the first quarter, and after having it re-taped he did try to test it out. But the junior tight end was unable to show the trainers that he was healthy enough to return, and now he’s on the sideline without his helmet. Losing Russell is a big deal for Colorado, as he accounted for five receptions, 77 receiving yards and a touchdown in the Buffaloes’ win over UCLA.

With Laviska Shenault leaving for the NFL last spring and K.D. Nixon not really playing in this game, someone had to step up and catch passes for the Buffs. That someone was Russell, who was not much of a contributor for Colorado last year. Russell (6'3/255) earned just 221 yards all of 2019, which means he has already picked up about one-third of that in a single game this year. Expect him to earn a new single-season high in receiving yards if he can even sort of keep up this pace.

Though Russell (6'3/255) is not on the official injury report, Tucker mentioned that the leading TE is considered day-to-day. Tucker added that Russell is “trending toward being ready to go,” but that likely won’t be decided for sure until game day. Russell’s 10 receptions and 109 each rank fifth on the team, though they are the top marks among the Buffs’ TEs.