RENTON, Wash. -- Quandre Diggs had other suitors after his release from the Tennessee Titans earlier this month, but the veteran safety wanted to return to the Seattle Seahawks, the team with which he spent four and a half seasons and played the best football of his career.
Even if it meant waiting them out.
"Obviously, if I had the opportunity to come back," he said, "it was a no-brainer."
The Seahawks had been in contact with Diggs for the last few weeks, as injuries were testing their depth at safety. The reunion became a reality on Wednesday, when they signed Diggs to their practice squad four days after fill-in starter Ty Okada hurt his oblique in the team's win over the Titans in Nashville.
"I knew where I wanted to be," Diggs, 32, said on his first day back at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center. "If it worked out, cool. If it didn't, I was cool at the crib."
Diggs became a key player in the Seahawks' post-Legion of Boom defense after arriving via a trade with the Detroit Lions in October of 2019. He made three straight Pro Bowls (2020-'22) and intercepted 18 passes over 72 games in Seattle.
The Seahawks released Diggs in March of 2024, though they were interested at the time in keeping him on a revised contract that would have lowered his $10.4 million base salary and a cap charge that was over $21 million. He instead signed with Tennessee in August.
"It just didn't work out," he said of staying in Seattle last year. "Now I had the opportunity to come back, and I just want to be of help any way I can really."
That may even mean being active Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings.
The Seahawks didn't place Okada on injured reserve, but he wasn't able to practice Wednesday, with coach Mike Macdonald describing him as day-to-day. Okada has been filling in for Julian Love, who's missed eight games this season, including the last four while on IR due to a hamstring injury. Macdonald said the hope is Love can return next week.
D'Anthony Bell is the Seahawks' next man up at safety, assuming they keep rookie second-round pick Nick Emmanwori at nickelback.
"Bringing back Diggs, it's pretty cool because him and I talked when we first got here last year, had a great conversation," Macdonald said. "Obviously, things worked out the way they did. But excited for him to be back. I know the building's excited. I think he's excited. I know a lot of our guys are really fired up. So we'll see just how it goes. But we were just doing our walkthrough, and he was spitting out calls. We'll see how it shakes out."
Diggs has a significant head start in learning Macdonald's defense, as the Titans run a version of it under coordinator Dennard Wilson. Some of the language is different, but the 11th-year veteran said, "I've been in the league a long time, so I'm pretty sure I can figure it out."
Is he ready to play Sunday?
"If that's what it calls for, you know me," he said, "I'll be ready to go."
Diggs started eight games for the Titans last year before sustaining a season-ending foot injury. He appeared in four games this year with nine starts before Tennessee released him on Nov. 7.
"We didn't win as much as obviously I wanted to," he said of his time with the Titans. "But met some great people, great teammates, great coaches. Just definitely different. I actually grew up here, actually learned how to be a man and play great football. So this has always been a place that I've been fond of. But Tennessee, it was a good year and a half. I learned a lot and now I'm just ready to be back with the guys, be back in the locker room, be familiar with people."
The Seahawks on Wednesday signed a pair of veteran running backs, adding Cam Akers to their 53-man roster and bringing back Myles Gaskin to their practice squad. They reinforce Seattle's backfield depth after RB3 George Holani injured his hamstring against Tennessee. Holani didn't practice Wednesday.
The Seahawks also waived cornerback Derion Kendrick, placed linebacker Chazz Surratt on IR with an ankle sprain. They promoted linebacker Patrick O'Connell and cornerback Shaquill Griffin from their practice squad. They added wide receiver Jimmy Holiday to their practice squad and released tackle Logan Brown.