Seahawks release former starting center Drew Nowak to add depth at tight end

The Seahawks responded to losing Jimmy Graham for the rest of the season to knee surgery by adding tight-end depth. And it comes at the expense of their former starting center.

In a telling admission of a mistake along its offensive line to begin this uneven season, Seattle released Drew Nowak. He is the former college defensive tackle who was the team’s starting center for the first five games.

The Seahawks signed tight end Chase Coffman to fill Nowak’s spot on the active roster. Coffman, 29, is a 6-foot-6, 244-pound former Titan. Tennesee released him in October.

Coffman was a third-round draft choice out of Missouri in 2009. He’s played for Cincinnati, Atlanta and Tennessee. He has 14 catches for 148 yards and one touchdown in his career.

Nowak lost his starting job in mid-October to Patrick Lewis as Seattle experimented with replacements since trading two-time Pro Bowl center Max Unger to New Orleans in March for Graham. Veteran Lemuel Jeanpierre, who was Unger’s backup for five seasons, is now the No. 2 center behind Lewis.

Here are all the Seahawks’ moves from Tuesday, including on and off the practice squad:

This story was originally published December 1, 2015 at 5:08 PM with the headline "Seahawks release former starting center Drew Nowak to add depth at tight end."