It appears the Seattle Seahawks now officially have a fullback.
Key special teams player Brady Russell is moving from tight end to fullback on offense, Seahawks.com senior reporter John Boyle wrote in a mailbag article published Wednesday afternoon. Russell is now listed as a fullback on the team’s official roster.
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The position change comes after Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak stated in February that he plans to use a fullback in his offense. It’s something he also did during his previous two OC stints with the New Orleans Saints in 2024 and the Minnesota Vikings in 2021.
Russell has a bit of recent experience at fullback, with 19 of his 49 offensive snaps over the past two seasons coming at the position, according to Pro Football Focus.
The last time the Seahawks consistently used a fullback was in 2015 with Will Tukuafu.
Russell, a 26-year-old undrafted free agent out of Colorado, signed with Seattle in 2023 and emerged as a key special teams stalwart. He logged a team-high 542 special teams snaps over past two seasons, while playing on Seattle’s kick return, punt return, kick coverage and punt coverage units. He had a team-high 10 special teams tackles last season, despite being limited to 11 games with a foot injury.
Russell also spent last season as the Seahawks’ fourth tight end, behind Noah Fant, AJ Barner and Pharaoh Brown.
Russell signed an exclusive rights tender with Seattle earlier this month. He was tendered as an exclusive rights free agent in March, which secured his rights for the 2025 season.
In recent years, fullbacks have made a minor resurgence across the NFL. With defenses employing smaller linebackers and lighter boxes in an attempt to slow down complex passing attacks, teams like the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens have countered with strong rushing attacks that regularly mix in a fullback.
Seahawks general manager John Schneider discussed the trend earlier this month during his weekly appearance on Seattle Sports. He pointed to how the NFL’s limits on practice time can make it challenging for defenses to prepare for two-back formations.
“I think (the fullback) is making a comeback,” Schneider said. “We don’t get enough (practice) time in college football or pro football, so the fundamentals aren’t great. So when you’re talking about preparing for a two-back offense, your run fits, that’s a lot now. Everybody’s really just preparing for (one running back).
“So when Klint came in, I know (head coach) Mike (Macdonald) was real fired up about (having) a fullback in our offense.”
Due to the 46-player gameday roster limit, Schneider noted that a fullback needs to have the versatility to play special teams. Russell certainly checks that box.
“That guy has to be a special teams player,” Schneider said. “You can’t have a fullback that can’t move and (can’t) play on (special) teams.”
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