RENTON — Jacob Hollister was back in Nashville, which he now considers home, content to let the NFL football season end without him.
Waived by the Raiders on Dec. 17, he’d gone unclaimed, and had just happily experienced his first Christmas at home in more than a decade and, with just a few weeks left in the season, figured he’d put on a jersey and helmet for the last time this year.
“I was expecting it to kind of be the season for me,” Hollister said.
But on Monday, the Seahawks called. Will Dissly was going to be lost for the season with a knee injury, and the Seahawks wondered if Hollister wanted to sign on with Seattle’s practice squad for as much of the season as is left.
“I was already talking about the offseason and all that kind of stuff,” he said. “And then the Seahawks called. And I couldn’t really turn that one down.”
So there Hollister was on Wednesday — he’d hoped to show up a day earlier but the airline issues impacting much of the nation had caused him to have to wait a day to get from Nashville to Seattle — back in the locker room he’d also called home in 2019 and 2020, which stand as the two best seasons of his six-year career.
“It was kind of out of the blue,” said Hollister, who called it “a no-brainer” to say yes. “I just love coming back here and seeing the guys. So it’s a great situation.”
Hollister’s signing gave Seattle four tight ends with Dissly out — Noah Fant and Colby Parkinson on the 53-man roster and Hollister and Tyler Mabry on the practice squad.
Fant has also been dealing with a knee injury but was upgraded to limited participation in practice Thursday indicating he’s on track to play Sunday at Lumen Field against the New York Jets.
Seattle will assuredly elevate another tight end to have three on the roster, and that role may more likely go to Mabry since he has been with the team for the last three years, mostly on the practice squad, but having played in eight games last season.
But Hollister obviously has lots of experience too, including his 27 games with Seattle in 2019 and 2020 when he caught 66 passes and six touchdowns.
Hollister spent 2021 with Buffalo and Jacksonville.
He began this year with the Raiders before a knee injury led to an injury settlement. He signed with the Vikings practice squad and played one game there before re-signing with the Raiders’ 53-man roster in November. But after three games there, used solely on special teams, he was again waived.
While the locker room and many of the people remain the same in Seattle, what isn’t is the offense.
Shane Waldron took over as coordinator last season and Hollister said the verbiage in particular is quite a bit different. So picking that up quickly enough to play will be the challenge for Hollister, if the Seahawks want to try to use him this week.
But Hollister said it’s worth it to try to get back on the field as a Seahawk.
He grew up in Bend, Oregon, where his favorite team as a kid was the Seahawks.
Thursday he recalled for reporters that one of the best birthdays he had along with his twin brother Cody — now a tight end with the Tennessee Titans — came when they were 8 or 9 years old and their father surprised them with tickets to a Seahawks game.
Their father had coerced them to go to the airport with him early in the morning with a story that they were there to pick up one of his friends.
“We were just sitting there super tired, and he handed us two Seahawks tickets and we were like ‘no way,’” Hollister, now 29, recalled. “It was pretty awesome. A good memory, for sure.”
He’s hoping now that maybe he can make a few more good Seahawks memories for as much as the season as if left.
“Hopefully we end up going to the playoffs,” he said. “But even if there is only a week-and-a-half left it’s a special place here. So that was a big part of me coming back, just the experience that I had here before.”
Lockett up to limited, Goodwin again out
Receiver Tyler Lockett was upgraded to being a limited participant in practice Thursday after having been listed as out on Wednesday, yet another strong indication that he is on track to play against the Jets Sunday.
Lockett suffered a broken bone in his left hand Dec. 15 against the 49ers and sat out the 24-10 loss to Kansas City on Saturday — just the third regular-season game he has missed in his eight-year career.
But after spending last week in Los Angeles having surgery and rehabbing, he returned to Seattle this week and took part in a walk-through Wednesday during which coach Pete Carroll said he caught passes without pain.
That he was able to then take part in practice on Thursday on a limited basis indicates he had no setback and could well give it a shot against New York.
Among the six players listed as out was fellow receiver Marquise Goodwin. Goodwin has been dealing with a wrist injury, but this week is also listed with a shoulder injury, and he was seen wearing a sling during the portion of practice open to the media Thursday.
Also listed as not practicing was defensive tackle Al Woods, who has missed the last two games with an Achilles injury, He was a full participant Wednesday, indicating optimism he could return this week. And he may have just been getting rest Thursday. Carroll does not speak to the media on Thursdays so there were no additional details.
Also out were running back Travis Homer (ankle), offensive tackle Abraham Lucas (knee), safety Ryan Neal (knee) and guard Gabe Jackson (knee/resting veteran). Homer was injured against KC, while Neal sat out. Carroll on Wednesday indicated Lucas would be rested this week but had a chance to play Sunday.
Aside from Lockett and Fant, others listed as limited were RB Kenneth Walker III (ankle), RB DeeJay Dallas (ankle), LB Bruce Irvin (knee/heel) and LB Darrell Taylor (shoulder). The limited designations are a good sign Walker and Dallas will be able to play Sunday.