Seahawks sign DT Deven Eastern, go with only two quarterbacks against Cardinals

The Seattle Seahawks went into Sunday's home game against the Arizona Cardinals with a thin quarterback room. On Saturday they promoted rookie defensive tackle Deven Eastern from the practice squad to the 53-man roster. The move they didn't make drew more attention: Adrian Martinez stayed on the practice squad, so Drew Lock and Jalen Milroe are the only quarterbacks available.

Mookie Alexander of SB Nation's Field Gulls pointed out why that matters. Under NFL rules, only a player on the active roster can serve as the emergency third quarterback. Leaving Martinez on the practice squad means Seattle has no listed quarterback behind Milroe. Alexander wrote that if both Lock and Milroe get hurt, "your guess is as good as mine" who takes the snaps. That risk is larger than usual this week. Sam Darnold is out with a quad injury from Monday's loss to Chicago, and coach Mike Macdonald said Lock would start while managing a right elbow injury that limited his throwing in practice, according to The Spokesman-Review.

Eastern was a seventh-round pick out of Minnesota. Seattle Sports reported he was a three-year starter there, and he gives the interior line help with Leonard Williams and Brandon Pili ruled out. Seahawks.com added that outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu is also out. The team opened the roster spot Friday by releasing running back Velus Jones Jr., then re-signed him to the practice squad. Seattle also elevated swing tackle Bobby Hart and receiver Montorie Foster Jr. for the second straight week, with Charles Cross and Rashid Shaheed both out. SB Nation noted that each of them has one practice-squad elevation left.

What it means for Sunday

Seattle is 4-4 and has lost three of its last four, most recently 34-17 at home to the Bears. The win in between was a 20-3 defeat of Kansas City, and the defense has looked like the steadier unit. The Cardinals are the one opponent Seattle has already handled with a backup quarterback. Lock started the Week 3 meeting in Arizona, and Seattle won 31-7. CBS Sports notes that Sunday will be his second start of the season.

The prices treat that earlier game as the better guide. Seattle is a clear favorite. On Novig, one of 12 venues on this site's board, the Seahawks are -365 on the moneyline and Arizona is +355. Novig has Seattle -8.5 at -100. The best Seattle number elsewhere is theScore Bet at -8 for -115, so the gap between venues comes down to half a point and the price attached to it. Sportsbook hold on the spread runs from 2.9% to 5.0%. The total sits at 39.5, with Novig at +104 on the over and -106 on the under. That's a low total, which fits an offense playing without Darnold, Cross and Shaheed, with a starter whose elbow is sore.

The moneyline price doesn't account for the roster gamble. If Lock's elbow flares up, Milroe takes over, and nobody is behind him. The game kicks off Sunday on Fox. Follow the rest of the season on our Seahawks page.