A roster reward for Seahawks’ best player recently, kickoff returner Godwin Igwebuike

The Seahawks have rewarded the best player recently with a fuller spot on their team.

Seattle signed Godwin Igwebuike off its practice squad to the 53-man active roster Monday, for this weekend’s must-win game against the New York Jets at Lumen Field. That’s after three games of his eye-opening kickoff returns.

The third-year veteran got his chance with Seattle this month. He was elevated from the practice squad for the Seahawks’ game against Carolina Dec. 11. He replaced injured DeeJay Dallas as the kickoff returner.

Instead of going nowhere or letting kickoffs sail over his head for touchbacks, as had been most Seahawks kickoff returns this season, Igwebuike zoomed. His 50-yard return got Seattle in position for a touchdown late in the first half of that Carolina game. He had 104 yards in three returns against the Panthers. He had another 83 yards against San Francisco Dec. 15. Last weekend at Kansas City, Igwebuike’s 48-yard return of the kickoff following the Chiefs’ initial touchdown of the game gave Seattle a drive start across midfield.

“Godwin has given us a boost coming back. He’s jumped in and has been a factor in the last couple of games,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said last week. “I’m really excited about what he’s doing in kickoff returns.”

Seahawks’ scouts saw Igwebuike return 28 kickoff for the Lions in 2021.

“Yeah, that was part of the package, that we knew that he had done that,” Carroll said. “He’s been a defensive player and has a really tough attitude about him, which is part of his style of hitting it.

“We’re not surprised. We are thrilled that it’s working out.”

The Seahawks had used their three standard elevations of Igwebuike from the practice squad to the game-day roster the NFL allows per practice-squad player per season. Those elevations allowed Seattle to return him to the practice squad after each of the last three games without him having to clear league waivers. After three elevations, a team must sign that practice-squad to the active roster or allow him the chance to sign with another team as a free agent.

Igwebuike takes the spot of rookie safety Joey Blount. Blount went on injured reserve with a knee injury he got in Seattle’s loss at Kansas City this past weekend.

The Seahawks signed the 28-year-old Igwebuike to their practice squad Sept. 27. That was almost a full month after Detroit waived him.

He was a running back and special-teams player for the Lions in 2021. Before that, he was a safety with the Seattle Dragons of the XFL in 2020. He had an interception and 21 tackles for the Dragons.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed him into the NFL as an undrafted rookie in 2018. He played one game for the Bucs and five for San Francisco in 2018. Philadelphia then the New York Jets signed and waived him in the offseason and preseason before the 2019 season

The Seahawks signed running back Tony Jones to their practice squad. They’d waived him last week.