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Seattle Seahawks News & Rumors

Seahawks To Keep Tabs On Cam Newton

October 19th, 2021 at 8:23am CST by Zachary Links

The Seahawks will continue to “keep tabs” on Cam Newton, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero hears (Twitter link). However, they’re unlikely to sign him straight away. 

Newton is still collecting $1.5MM from his previous Patriots contract, a sum that is subject to offsets. Newton, understandably, is unwilling to play for free. So, in order to sign Newton, the Seahawks or any other club would have to offer a better deal. That amount would be prorated, but it could still prove to be a barrier.

For now, the Seahawks are willing to roll with Geno Smith and Jake Luton as their quarterbacks until Russell Wilson is ready to return. Star power aside, it’s hard to say whether Newton would represent a clear upgrade over Smith.

Newton finished near the bottom of the league in cumulative QBR from 2016-19 and didn’t impress in 2020. Last year, the former MVP threw for just 2,657 yards and eight touchdowns with ten interceptions. On the plus side, he displayed his usual rushing talent, collecting 592 yards and 12 TDs on the ground, plus a receiving touchdown.

Seahawks Talk To Cam Newton

October 18th, 2021 at 12:45pm CST by Zachary Links

The Seahawks have had talks with Cam Newton, according to head coach Pete Carroll (Twitter link via Brady Henderson of ESPN.com). Carroll declined to say whether they’ve discussed terms, but there’s at least some interest in bringing the former MVP to Seattle.

“Just so you know, we have talked to him,” Carroll said. “We’re talking to everybody that could help us.”

Newton could backstop Geno Smith, the Seahawks’ current starter. For what it’s worth, Newton claims that he would have been willing to sit behind Mac Jones in New England had the Patriots kept him on the Week 1 roster.

The 32-year-old recently announced that he’s been vaccinated for COVID-19, clearing another potential hurdle for interested clubs like the Seahawks. Even though he struggled in 2020 and ranked 29th in cumulative QBR from 2016-19, there’s no denying that he’d be a high-upside pickup at the right price.

The Seahawks are 2-4 following Sunday’s overtime loss to the Steelers. Next up, a Monday night showdown with the Saints.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/16/21

October 16th, 2021 at 4:33pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Week 6 Saturday minor move blitz:

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Football Team

Seahawks Place Chris Carson On IR

October 15th, 2021 at 6:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

6:07pm: The Seahawks are following through with the Carson shutdown plan. They officially placed Wilson and Carson on IR later Friday afternoon. Neither player can return before Week 10.

4:23pm: In addition to their preparations to place Russell Wilson on injured reserve, the Seahawks are considering shutting down their other backfield starter.

They have ruled Chris Carson out for a second straight week due to a neck injury, and Pete Carroll said an IR stay is in play for the fifth-year running back, via the Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta (on Twitter). Sunday night will be Carson’s second consecutive absence. An IR move would sideline him until Week 10, when the Seahawks return from their bye week.

Carson has been Seattle’s starting back since 2018. Although the team drafted Rashaad Penny with an eye on him one day taking over, the 2018 first-round pick has battled far more substantial injury trouble over the course of his career. Carson has run into extensive injury trouble as well, though he has been able to stay on the field en route to securing a two-year, $10.4MM deal this offseason.

The former seventh-round pick missed most of his rookie year with a broken leg, missed the end of the 2019 season with an arm injury and was down for four games in 2020 with a foot issue. Carson did not practice this week.

Carroll did say Penny should be expected to return from IR next week. A calf injury sustained in Week 1 led Penny back to IR. The contract-year back has played in just four games since an ACL tear ended his 2019 season. Alex Collins is set to lead the Seahawks’ running back troops against the Steelers. This is Collins’ second Seattle stint. The team brought him back in November 2020, and injuries to Carson and Penny have moved the former fifth-round Seahawks draftee into a key role.

Seahawks To Place Russell Wilson On IR

October 15th, 2021 at 4:08pm CST by Sam Robinson

Russell Wilson‘s injury absence will extend to at least Week 10. The Seahawks are placing their 10th-year starting quarterback on IR, Pete Carroll said Friday.

Wilson suffered a ruptured middle finger tendon in his throwing hand last week. He underwent surgery last Friday. Sunday will be the first absence of his NFL career, halting a run of 149 straight regular-season starts.

The Seahawks have a Week 9 bye, giving Wilson extra time to heal before a potential return in November. Longtime backup Geno Smith will start against the Steelers on Sunday night. Smith has not started a game since 2017 with the Giants. Barring injury, Smith will make consecutive starts for the first time since his stint as the Jets’ QB1 ended after the 2014 season.

While Wilson’s status threatens to sink the Seahawks (2-3) in a competitive NFC West race, a Week 10 return would beat the six- to eight-week timetable initially floated. Given Wilson’s ironman start to his career, it obviously should not be ruled out he will be back when first eligible in Week 10.

The perennial Pro Bowler will miss games against the Steelers, Saints and Jaguars. The Seahawks will travel to Green Bay in Week 10. That Nov. 14 game will mark five weeks and two days from Wilson’s injury.

Seahawks Not Planning Bortles Deal

October 13th, 2021 at 5:47pm CST by Sam Robinson
  • Blake Bortles auditioned for the Seahawks on Tuesday, but Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times notes they are not expected to sign him (Twitter link). Seattle instead re-signed Danny Etling, who was with the team from August 2020 to August of ’21. Etling is currently on the Seahawks’ practice squad. Bortles has not been able to land a steady gig since the 2019 season, when he backed up Jared Goff with the Rams.
  • Pete Carroll said Tre Flowers did not request to be waived, Condotta adds (via Twitter). The Flowers transaction went through Wednesday, so a claim would surface by Thursday afternoon — if a team is to claim the fourth-year cornerback. The Seahawks have used former second-round pick Sidney Jones in Flowers’ place in the past two games.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/13/21

October 13th, 2021 at 3:23pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Wednesday’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Chicago Bears

Houston Texans

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Seahawks Working Out QB Blake Bortles

October 12th, 2021 at 3:52pm CST by Sam Robinson

With Russell Wilson set to miss starts for the first time in his NFL tenure, the Seahawks are shorthanded at quarterback behind starter Geno Smith. They brought in a veteran for a workout Tuesday.

Blake Bortles made the trip to Seattle for an audition, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Bortles has been out of football since the Packers cut him earlier this year.

The Packers released Bortles at the outset of their training camp, doing so after Aaron Rodgers reported to the team. Bortles has bounced around since his scrutinized run as the Jaguars’ starting quarterback ended after the 2018 season. The former No. 3 overall pick has spent time with the Rams, Broncos and Packers since the Jags cut him in 2019.

Seattle has only Smith on its active roster at quarterback. The team has preferred to carry only two passers during much of Wilson’s career. That strategy made sense given Wilson’s durability. But the finger injury he suffered in Week 5 will bring his 149-start streak to an end, moving Smith into the QB1 seat. The Seahawks have second-year QB Jake Luton on their practice squad.

Seahawks To Waive CB Tre Flowers

October 12th, 2021 at 3:36pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Seahawks are moving on from cornerback Tre Flowers, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The fourth-year defender will land on waivers midway through his contract year.

This move comes at Flowers’ request, per Rapoport. The Seahawks stationed Flowers as a starter during the season’s first three games but relegated him to a special teams-only participant in Weeks 4 and 5. Flowers had been with the Seahawks since being drafted in the 2018 fifth round.

Despite being a Day 3 draftee, Flowers began his career as a full-time starter with Seattle. He and Shaquill Griffin lined up as the team’s primary first-string corners in 2018 and ’19. The Seahawks drafted Flowers shortly after releasing Richard Sherman. Flowers, however, lost his starting gig last year. He regained it in Week 1, months after the Seahawks let Griffin defect to the Jaguars in free agency.

Pro Football Focus has not viewed Flowers’ work in a favorable light since his rookie season, rating him outside the top 80 at cornerback in each of the ensuing three years. While this season still has a ways to go, Flowers not being able to crack a Seahawks rotation — during a season in which the team ranks last in total defense — has further reduced his stock. Flowers, 26, has not played a defensive snap since Week 3.

The Seahawks, who rank 30th in pass defense, moved Sidney Jones into their starting lineup in Week 4 opposite D.J. Reed. The team acquired Jones, a former Washington Husky, via trade from the Jaguars just before the season.

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