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Seattle Seahawks

Seahawks trade for Detroit safety Quandre Diggs to bolster depleted secondary

Seattle Seahawks running back Chris Carson rushes as Detroit Lions strong safety Quandre Diggs defends during the first half Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018, in Detroit. (Duane Burleson / AP)
By Adam Jude Seattle Times

RENTON, Wash. – The Seattle Seahawks traded for Detroit safety Quandre Diggs to bolster a depleted secondary, sending the Lions a 2020 fifth-round draft pick, the Seattle Times confirmed.

Seattle also acquired a 2021 seventh-round pick in the exchange.

The NFL Networks’ Tom Pelissero was first to report the deal. The Lions announced the trade later Tuesday afternoon.

Diggs, 26, listed at 5-foot-9 and 197 pounds, was a sixth-round pick out of Texas in 2015. He has started five games for Detroit this season, missing one game with a hamstring injury.

A nickel cornerback early in his career, Diggs moved to strong safety in 2017. In 2018, he started all 16 games at strong safety, finishing with 64 tackles, three interceptions and eight pass breakups.

Diggs was one of Detroit’s team captains and a popular player in the Lions’ locker room. A handful of Detroit players took to Twitter to express frustration about the trade.

In 65 career games for Detroit, he posted 229 total tackles (191 solo), 24 pass defenses, 12 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, one sack and one interception.

In September 2018, Diggs signed a three-year, $18.6 million contract extension with the Lions. He has a cap hit of $6,991,666 for 2020 and $7,341,668 for 2021, according to spotrac.com, a high salary that suggests he is coming to Seattle to play a significant role.

In Seattle’s secondary scheme, Diggs is expected to be used more as a nickel or free safety.

The Seahawks had a need at safety after starter Bradley McDougald (back) and backup Lano Hill (elbow) both went down with injuries last week.

In McDougald’s place at strong safety, rookie Marquise Blair made his first start in Sunday’s loss to Baltimore. Blair had six tackles and one pass breakup, and drew strong reviews from head coach Pete Carroll.

McDougald is day to day, Carroll said Monday. Hill is expected to miss a couple of weeks.

Tedric Thompson has started five of Seattle’s seven games at free safety but has struggled at times. He allowed a 50-yard reception over his head on the the Ravens’ opening drive Sunday, drawing Carroll’s ire.

“We made a big mistake early – gave them a freebie down the field. That’s just distasteful,” Carroll said Monday. “I hate that we gave them that because there’s no way that should’ve happened.”

Seattle will need to make a corresponding roster to move to add Diggs to the roster.