Robbie Ouzts entered Seahawks camp with an injury problem already hanging over him, and now Seattle has added a player who could make his hold on the fullback job even shakier.
Ouzts, the second-year blocking back from Alabama, is dealing with an undisclosed injury that has kept him out of early training camp practices. That’s not exactly new territory for him either. He also missed the Super Bowl last season because of a neck injury.
Even before the latest setback, this looked like a tricky season for Ouzts. As a rookie, he logged about 200 offensive snaps, a total that likely would have climbed if not for an ankle sprain that cost him a chunk of games early in the year.
Seattle’s new offensive coordinator, Brian Fleury, is also a wildcard. There’s an assumption he’ll use a fullback the way Klint Kubiak did last season, but nothing is guaranteed.
That uncertainty got more real when the Seahawks signed Brock Lampe.
Lampe fits the profile of a player Seattle could plug in if Ouzts is sidelined longer than expected. He entered the league last season as an undrafted free agent with the New England Patriots, and like Kubiak, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has long valued the fullback position.
Lampe turned heads in New England’s 2025 training camp, with several reporters around the team slotting him into early roster projections. Then a leg injury knocked him out of the picture, and he landed on injured reserve before the season.
The Patriots later brought in Reggie Gilliam, who spent his first six seasons with the Buffalo Bills and finished 2025 as the highest-rated fullback in the league according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Gilliam’s 89.5 run-blocking grade was elite, and his arrival made Lampe expendable.
Seattle general manager John Schneider moved quickly once Lampe was released.
At Northern Illinois, the 6-foot-1, 249-pound Lampe carried the ball only 20 times in his college career, but his value came from doing the dirty work. He was a strong lead blocker on a team that wanted to run the ball, and he also served as a team captain. He earned Academic All-Conference honors three straight seasons and drew praise for his effort and leadership.
He brought value on special teams, too. Lampe started out as a linebacker in college and became a useful player on kick coverage. Over time, he also grew into a workable short-yardage runner and a serviceable option in the screen game.
If he sticks on the Seahawks roster, though, it will be because of what he can do as a blocker and on special teams.
There’s another detail that helps his case: Thomas Hammock coached Lampe all four years at Northern Illinois, and Hammock is now Seattle’s running backs coach. It’s hard to picture Schneider bringing Lampe in without a strong recommendation from Hammock.
Seattle carried two fullbacks last season, and veteran Brady Russell might seem like the obvious next man up if Ouzts can’t get healthy. But Russell’s roster spot appears fairly safe because of his special teams work, while Lampe has more experience lining up in the backfield as a traditional lead blocker or out on the wing.
If Ouzts stays out, Lampe could be in line to fill that role for the Super Bowl champions sooner than expected.
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