HEADLINES

Marquise Blair

Seahawks’ Marquise Blair To Undergo Surgery

October 28th, 2021 at 2:45pm CST by Sam Robinson

Knee trouble has plagued Marquise Blair for much of his career, and the former second-round pick has run into perhaps his toughest challenge yet.

The third-year Seahawks cornerback suffered a fractured right kneecap, and Pete Carroll said (via the Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta) season-ending surgery is on tap. This marks the second straight year Blair’s season has ended early because of a right knee injury. Blair suffered a torn ACL in 2020. Blair suffered this latest injury in the fourth quarter of the Seahawks’ Monday loss to the Saints.

Blair sustained a torn left ACL during his junior season at Utah but bounced back in 2018 to be one of the top corners drafted. The Seahawks selected Blair 47th overall in 2019 and used him in a part-time role as a rookie. He played in just two games last season but had bounced back to rotate with Ugo Amadi at Seattle’s nickel spot. Amadi, a 2019 fourth-round pick, will move forward in that role.

This is certainly a concerning run of setbacks for Blair, whose rookie contract runs through the 2022 season. While the Seahawks salvaged their 2019 draft by choosing D.K. Metcalf later in the second round, Blair and first-rounder L.J. Collier have not been able to contribute much.

The Seahawks have undergone a retooling effort at corner, having let Shaquill Griffin walk in free agency and having recently cut Tre Flowers. The team, which also traded offseason addition Ahkello Witherspoon weeks ago, drafted Tre Brown in the fourth round. Recent trade get Sidney Jones and 2020 waiver claim D.J. Reed join Amadi as Seattle’s top three corners.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/23/20

September 23rd, 2020 at 12:55pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

New York Jets

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

Tennessee Titans

NFC Notes: Clowney, Cards, Giants, Panthers

July 7th, 2020 at 4:41pm CST by Sam Robinson

A notable development transpired in Jadeveon Clowney‘s near-fourth-month free agency odyssey Tuesday. The Browns’ Olivier Vernon restructure points to them giving the Vernon-Myles Garrett pairing another year and bowing out on Clowney. This would eliminate a high-paying suitor from the sweepstakes. The Seahawks remain in the running for Clowney, but Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times notes they are not going to offer a deal in the $15-$16MM-AAV ballpark like they did earlier this offseason. Seattle’s offer in this neighborhood occurred several weeks ago, but the team is still in need at edge rusher. Clowney now has an offer in hand from the Raiders, but they were viewed as a “distant third.” However, with the Browns perhaps out, the Raiders may have moved up to second. At just more than $13MM in cap space, the Seahawks hold more than the Raiders ($8MM).

Here is the latest from the NFC:

  • Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins lined up as teammates for the first time, with the new Cardinals duo joining several teammates in Texas for a workout. Despite the NFLPA issuing directives for players not to gather for workouts, as the COVID-19 pandemic sets records (with Texas being a hot spot) in recent days. But other teams — most notably the Buccaneers — have seen select personnel conven for pre-training camp work. The Cards’ workout took place nearby where Murray went to high school, just north of Dallas.
  • Seahawks second-round pick Marquise Blair will compete with Bradley McDougald for the team’s starting strong safety job, opposite Quandre Diggs, but Brady Henderson of ESPN.com notes the second-year player is also a candidate to be Seattle’s nickel back. Blair played just 219 snaps as a rookie, though Pete Carroll said he is “very interested” in getting him on the field this season. Ugo Amadi, a 2019 fourth-rounder, will serve as Blair’s primary competition for Seattle’s nickel role. Amadi played just 76 defensive snaps as a rookie.
  • The Giants hired their first female scout, naming Hannah Burnett as their Midlands scout. Burnett’s most notable NFL experience came with the Falcons, for whom she attended pro days and the Combine. In addition to Burnett, the Giants named Marquis Pendleton their northeast area scout and added Nick Williams as an offensive assistant. Pendleton has worked in a different scouting capacity with the team since 2016; Williams spent the past three seasons as Southern Illinois’ wide receivers coach.
  • The Panthers did not renew the contracts of scouts Don Warren and Clyde Powers, Joe Person of The Athletic tweets. Both staffers were Dave Gettleman hires. Warren was a three-time Super Bowl champion as a tight end with the Redskins, for whom he also worked as a scout prior to his Panthers stay.

Seahawks Sign Four Draft Picks

May 6th, 2019 at 7:41pm CST by Ben Levine

The Seahawks have started signing a handful of their 11 draft picks to contracts. According to ESPN’s Brady Henderson (via Twitter), Seattle signed four of their rookies today:

Blair is the most notable name on the list, as the Seahawks used one of their two second-rounders on the Utah product. Following a solid 2017 season, the safety had a breakout campaign in 2018, finishing the season with 44 tackles, two passes defended, and two picks.

The Seahawks watched as both Earl Thomas and Mo Alexander left via free agency, leaving some open spots on the depth chart. Tedric Thompson and Bradley McDougald are currently slotted in as the team’s starting safeties, but Blair should be able to supplant one of the two. The team also inked another rookie safety, Amadi, to his contract, providing the team with even more depth at the position.

Haynes may have a difficult time cracking the lineup, as both Mike Iupati and D.J. Fluker are standing in his way. However, the rookie has a chance to become a useful reserve lineman. The same goes for Burr-Kirven, who should compete with Barkevious Mingo, Shaquem Griffin, and Austin Calitro for backup reps at linebacker.

Following today’s signings, seven of the Seahawks’ draft picks remain unsigned.