Dontae Johnson Placed on IR by Seahawks with Groin Injury

Seattle Seahawks cornerback Dontae Johnson was placed on injured reserve Saturday, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

The projected starter suffered a groin strain this week that wasn't considered serious at the time, but he will now be unavailable for at least eight weeks of the regular season.

Akeem King has been promoted from the practice squad to replace Johnson on the 53-man roster, per Pelissero.

Johnson was entering his first season with the Seahawks after playing the past four years with the San Francisco 49ers. The 2014 fourth-round pick appeared in all but one regular-season game in this stretch, starting all 16 games in 2017.

He led San Francisco with 77 tackles last season.

The 26-year-old impressed the Seahawks enough to be listed as the starting cornerback in the team's official depth chart for Week 1.

However, this injury hurts an already thin secondary in Seattle.

Byron Maxwell was already placed on injured reserve last week, while All-Pro safety Earl Thomas is not expected to play as he continues his holdout, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Perennial Pro Bowlers Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor are also no longer with the team.

This leaves a lot of uncertainty heading into Sunday's game against the Denver Broncos.

Shaquill Griffin will remain the No. 1 cornerback for Seattle while Tre Flowers and Neiko Thorpe will likely see extra playing time with Johnson unavailable.