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Seattle Seahawks

Seahawks trade with Eagles to acquire offensive lineman Matt Tobin

Seattle Seahawks offensive tackle George Fant is taken away on an injury cart after he went down on a play against the Minnesota Vikings in the first half of an NFL football preseason game, Friday, Aug. 18, 2017, in Seattle. (Scott Eklund / AP)
By Bob Condotta Seattle Times

The Seahawks made another move on Monday to beef up their offensive line in the wake of a season-ending injury to left tackle George Fant suffered Friday, acquiring Matt Tobin in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Seahawks sent a 2018 fifth-round pick to the Eagles to get Tobin and will also get a 2018 seventh-round pick in return.

Tobin has 21 career NFL starts after entering the league as a undrafted free agent in 2013 out of Iowa, with 20 at guard – 15 at right guard and five at left guard – and one at tight end.

But he also played some left tackle during his college career at Iowa and started at right tackle for the Eagles in their preseason game on Thursday against Buffalo, playing 22 snaps. He also was listed third on the Eagles’ official depth chart this week at left tackle.

Tobin started 13 games at right guard for the Eagles in 2015 when he played a career-high 983 snaps after taking over for injured starter Andrew Gardner.

Tobin suffered a knee injury late last season that put him on Injured Reserve.

Seattle waived injured tight end Marcus Lucas, who suffered an ankle injury Friday, to make room for Tobin on the 90-man roster.

The Seahawks made the trade following Monday’s practice when coach Pete Carroll had said that for now, the team would likely go with second-year player Rees Odhiambo at left tackle and leave Luke Joeckel at left guard. Carroll also said rookie Ethan Pocic would get more reps at left tackle and the Seahawks on Monday also officially signed free agent Tyrus Thompson and plan to use him at left tackle.

The Seahawks waived injured rookie offensive lineman Justin Senior, a sixth-round pick in 2017, to make room for Thompson. The Seahawks expect Senior to clear waivers and then revert to Injured Reserve. Senior has been bothered by a knee injury and had yet to practice with the team having been on the Physically Unable to Perform list.

Carroll said again that Joeckel can also play left tackle but that the plan for the moment is to try Odhiambo there and see how he does.

Carroll said Fant will have surgery next Monday and that he suffered both ACL and MCL damage in his right knee when teammate Justin Britt fell into the back of his legs early in the second quarter. But Carroll said it is expected Fant would be able to make a full recovery in time for the 2018 season.