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Thomas Rawls

Thomas Rawls Fractures Ankle, Out For Year

December 13th, 2015 at 3:52pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Seahawks are on a roll, having won four games in a row (scoring 29+ points in each contest) as they’ve improved to 8-5 on the season. But they’ll have to finish the rest of the regular season — and a likely postseason run — without the help of rookie running back Thomas Rawls, who suffered a fractured ankle today and will miss the remainder of the season, head coach Pete Carroll told reporters, including Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (Twitter link).

Rawls is a devastating loss for a Seattle offense that has been without fellow running back Marshawn Lynch for the better part of a month. Filling in for the veteran, Rawls, an undrafted free agent, has been exceptional, rushing for nearly 400 yards during from Week 11 to 13. He’d been stellar subbing for Lynch earlier in the season as well, as reflected by the rookie’s season totals: 141 carries, 786 yards, and four touchdowns.

Carroll told reporters that Rawls might not require surgery, but that obviously makes no difference as to whether he’ll be available again this season. And while for the time being it appears as though veterans Fred Jackson and DuJuan Harris will form some sort of backfield committee, Carroll did add that the team might look for help via free agency (Twitter link via Condotta).

Of course, the wild card in this scenario is Lynch, who is said to be recovering well from sports hernia surgery. Lynch is apparently back at the team facility, and just this morning we heard that he’s “progressing.” Still, with Seattle all but having locked up a wild card spot, it probably doesn’t make sense for the club to push Lynch to return, even with the injury to Rawls. But whether or not Lynch can get back in time for the playoffs could have huge implications on the Seahawks’ postseason chances.

Extra Points: Tomsula, Rawls, Bills, Cassel

November 27th, 2015 at 9:18pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The latest from around the NFL…

  • The 49ers are 3-7 and bound to finish with one of the league’s worst records this season, but it might not be the team’s win-loss results that decide if head coach Jim Tomsula will return for a second year. Instead, according to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com (video link), it could come down to how well some of the 49ers’ young players progress over the final six games. As Maiocco notes, the 49ers chose Tomsula over Adam Gase, among others, in the offseason – a pick they were happy with at the time. They wanted Tomsula because of his teaching skills. Thus, it’s certainly not a foregone conclusion that they’ll get rid of him because of one subpar year.
  • With Marshawn Lynch injured, the Seahawks are especially fortunate to have rookie sensation Thomas Rawls as a member of their backfield. Rawls could have signed elsewhere as an undrafted free agent last spring, though, as the $15,000 the ex-Central Michigan standout got from Seattle wasn’t his highest offer, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today. Dallas was among the teams interested in Rawls – who chose the Seahawks because he wanted to learn from Lynch, according to his agent. If not for off-field issues, Rawls might have been drafted and unable to choose his destination.
  • The Bills shut down four-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Kyle Williams for the season Friday because of a knee injury, and the 10-year veteran isn’t a lock to return to Buffalo for an 11th season in 2016. He does intend to keep playing, though, and he hopes to remain a Bill. “I want to see everything, every dream, every goal I’ve had since I’ve been here 10 years ago, I want to see it come true,” said Williams, according to The Buffalo News’ Tyler Dunne. “We’ve got a great staff and we’ve got a lot of guys who believe in one another.”
  • The 3-8 Cowboys have gone 0-7 in games not started by Tony Romo this year, and they’ll have to play the final five weeks of the season without the injured Romo. That means Matt Cassel will be under center, which hasn’t been a positive for Dallas this season. Cassel, who has underwhelmed statistically in addition to going winless, might not be a Cowboy next year. Regarding the upcoming offseason, owner Jerry Jones said (via The Dallas Morning News’ Brandon George), “We’ll look at certainly where we are at our backup quarterback position, which probably if I could redo some of the thinking there this year, that would be the first place I’d start looking in my mirror.”
  • 49ers running back Carlos Hyde – sidelined since the end of October with a stress fracture in his foot – is a candidate for season-ending surgery, per Maiocco.
  • Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap took a look at the upcoming class of free agent tight ends. Cleveland’s Gary Barnidge is among the players highlighted. While Barnidge is having a big year (48 catches, 667 yards, seven touchdowns), Fitzgerald doesn’t expect him to cash in to a significant extent because of his lack of track record relative to his age (30).

Latest On Marshawn Lynch

November 25th, 2015 at 10:51am CST by Luke Adams

10:51am: La Canfora confirms (via Twitter) that Lynch underwent a procedure for his sports hernia today, adding that the Seahawks will reevaluate him in three or four weeks.

10:43am: Coming off a 200-yard rushing game, Thomas Rawls appears poised to continue carrying the load in the Seahawks’ backfield, with Marshawn Lynch‘s abdominal injury is expected to sideline him for multiple weeks. Various reports have suggested that Lynch will be out anywhere from two to five weeks, putting him on track to return in December.

Adam Schefter of ESPN.com initially reported that Lynch would need “a couple weeks” to see how he does in his recovery from his abdominal injury, though subsequent reports have suggested the running back will miss more time. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), Lynch will undergo sports hernia surgery today, and is expected to be out for about a month.

Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com passes along similar info to Rapoport’s, tweeting that the Seahawks will likely wait about three or four weeks to see how Lynch responds to surgery. Meanwhile, Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports doesn’t specifically mention surgery, but tweets that Lynch will miss about four or five weeks.

While we may have to wait for the Seahawks to issue a statement to get the official word on Lynch, it seems clear that Rawls will be the top back on the club’s depth chart for at least the next couple games, and Lynch won’t be placed on injured reserve. At 5-5, Seattle is still very much in the Wild Card hunt in the NFC, so it sounds like Lynch would be back in time for the playoffs if the team were to earn a postseason berth.

Rawls’ performance over the next few weeks could also have an impact on Lynch’s long-term future in Seattle. The veteran is set to earn a base salary of $9MM in 2016, the highest amount in the NFL for a running back. If Rawls proves capable of being the No. 1 option in the Seahawks’ backfield, the team could conceivably consider releasing Lynch – or at least asking him to rework his contract – in the offseason.

NFC Notes: D. Hall, Cowboys, Lions

November 19th, 2015 at 9:02am CST by Luke Adams

Washington defensive back DeAngelo Hall, a longtime cornerback who has earned three Pro Bowl nods at the position, wants to play safety not just to extend his career, but to make a real impact, writes Liz Clarke of the Washington Post.

“I’m not gonna try to go play safety just to try to extend my career,” Hall said. “I’m gonna go play safety just to be a damn good safety. I’m not in the business of just trying to just tack on years. I can go home and hang with my kids and my family before I do that.”

Here’s more from around the NFC:

  • In addition to the trio of ex-Seahawks running backs the Cowboys have acquired this year, Dallas also tried to sign Thomas Rawls as a priority free agent, Ed Werder of ESPN.com tweets. The Cowboys are currently carrying former Seattle backs Robert Turbin and Rod Smith on their roster, having recently cut Christine Michael.
  • Explaining why the Seahawks released wide receiver Chris Matthews this week, offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said that the club “just didn’t feel like we got what we were looking for” from Matthews (Twitter link via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times). The Seattle OC praised Matthews talent, but cautioned there was more to on-field success than that. “You have to be able to fit in and you have to be able to make plays when your opportunities come,” Bevell said. “You have to be able to understand the offense and do the right thing, and all those things together, it just wasn’t enough.”
  • With a game against Carson Palmer‘s old team coming up this weekend, Cardinals GM Steve Keim said he can’t believe his club got the quarterback “for basically nothing,” tweets Ed Werder of ESPN.com. Of course, Arizona’s game this week is against the Bengals, who got a much more significant return for Palmer when they sent to him to Oakland than the Raiders did when they sent him to the Cards.
  • The Lions‘ search for secondary depth resulted in workouts for defensive backs Danny Gorrer, R.J. Stanford, and Brock Vereen, along with a visit from cornerback Josh Gordy, per Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (Twitter links). The team ultimately signed veteran corner Bill Bentley, who also had an audition this week.

Seahawks Agree To Terms With 12 UDFAs

May 2nd, 2015 at 9:23pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Seahawks have reached agreements with 12 undrafted free agents, per Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (Twitter links here). The full list:

  • Nate Boyer, LS, Texas
  • Jesse Davis, OT, Idaho
  • Austin Hill, WR, Arizona
  • Keenan Lambert, SS, Norfolk State ($10k bonus, per Aaron Wilson)
  • Ronald Martin, SS, LSU
  • Quayshawn Nealy, LB, Georgia Tech
  • Thomas Rawls, RB, Central Michigan
  • Trovon Reed, CB, Auburn
  • Alex Singleton, LB, Montana State
  • Tory Slater, DE, West Georgia
  • Rod Smith, RB, Ohio State
  • Triston Wade, FS, Texas-San Antonio