HEADLINES

Derick Hall

Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker Back For Week 4

September 28th, 2024 at 5:15pm CST by Ely Allen

Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker was off to a hot start in Week 1 with 103 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries before leaving the game with an oblique injury. He’s been out ever since, but according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the third-year rusher will make his return to the field in Week 4.

Since Walker’s departure, Zach Charbonnet has stepped in as the lead back in Seattle. He struggled in his first start of the season, amassing only 38 rushing yards on 14 carries but saved the performance with a touchdown, as well as five catches for 31 yards through the air. Last week, he showed RB1 potential with a 91-yard, two-touchdown performance.

While Walker is returning to the field, it might be in the Seahawks’ best interest to slow-play his comeback. The team will obviously want to get Walker involved in the offense, but if they feel confident with the body of work Charbonnet has put forth thus far, they may continue to give Charbonnet a good number of carries until they’re certain Walker is 100 percent.

Walker’s return is obviously good news, but unfortunately, it comes alongside the announcement that four defensive players will be unavailable this coming Monday. Per Brady Henderson of ESPN, defensive tackles Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy and outside linebackers Uchenna Nwosu and Boye Mafe have all been ruled out for Week 4. Williams, Nwosu, and Mafe have been starters so far this year, while Murphy has played a strong rotational role on the line.

Nwosu has missed Seattle’s first three games with an MCL sprain and is not yet ready to come back. The other three all suffered injuries in last week’s matchup with the Dolphins. Murphy suffered a hamstring injury, Williams hurt his ribs, and Mafe aggravated a previous knee issue. The Seahawks will attempt to use Mike Morris and Myles Adams to fill the holes on the line, while Derick Hall and Dre’Mont Jones should fill in at outside linebacker.

Seahawks Sign Round 2 LB Derick Hall

June 6th, 2023 at 4:27pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Seahawks now have two of their top three draft picks under contract. Edge rusher Derick Hall joined Jaxon Smith-Njigba in signing his four-year rookie deal. While the Smith-Njigba deal will not end up affecting others drafted in the same neighborhood, Hall’s will likely play a bigger role in rookies’ negotiations this year.

Hall’s through-2026 pact comes with three years fully guaranteed and $100K guaranteed in the fourth year, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. The deal will also pay 85% of Hall’s signing bonus before training camp, which Pelissero notes is a first for a second-rounder. This agreement leaves only No. 5 overall pick Devon Witherspoon and second-round running back Zach Charbonnet as Seattle’s only unsigned draftees.

Chosen 37th overall, Hall is the highest second-round pick to sign this year. This marks the second straight year in which the No. 37 overall pick stands to influence other teams’ structures for second-round contracts. The Texans gave last year’s No. 37 pick, safety Jalen Pitre, three years fully guaranteed, marking an improvement after the 2021 draft saw the No. 34 overall pick represent the cutoff line for such terms. While rookie contracts are less complicated compared to the days before the landscape-reshaping 2011 CBA, second-rounders’ negotiations present some wiggle room.

Hall’s deal figures to influence the structures of the players taken before him in Round 2 — Joey Porter Jr., Will Levis, Sam LaPorta, Michael Mayer, Steve Avila — and agents representing the players chosen shortly after the Seahawks edge rusher will undoubtedly take notice as well. The cutoff line for three fully guaranteed years should be expected to move closer toward the middle of this year’s second round.

Hall wrapped the five-pick haul the Seahawks obtained from the Broncos in the Russell Wilson trade. The four first- or second-round picks from that deal wound up consisting of Charles Cross, Boye Mafe, Witherspoon and Hall. The Seahawks have made a concerted effort to bolster their pass rush over the past two years, selecting Maye and Hall after signing Uchenna Nwosu. They also signed ex-Broncos interior D-lineman Dre’Mont Jones to add punch to their interior rush.

An Auburn alum, Hall totaled nine sacks as a junior and 6.5 as a senior. In that time, he compiled 24 tackles for loss. Scouts Inc. viewed Hall as a considerable reach for Seattle, ranking the 254-pound edge-rushing prospect 66th overall. NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah also did not have Hall as a top-50 prospect. The Seahawks have consistently made early-round picks not in line with pre-draft boards, as the Rashaad Penny, L.J. Collier and Jordyn Brooks picks illustrate. They did so again with Hall, who should at least provide rotational rush support as a rookie.