On the heels of my bitch session on Monday, it appears the Seahawks took notice and went a step beyond where even I expected!
Thomas Rawls is back and apparently ready to go this week, but he was also on the 53-man roster this whole time. It’s not like he’s coming off of IR or anything; the Seahawks didn’t HAVE to make a move to activate Rawls, because he was already active! But, they apparently have seen enough out of Christine Michael this year to take this drastic step, and obviously feel the open roster spot would be of better use.
And, make no mistake, this is 100% about Christine Michael being a bad fit for this offense and this running game, than it is about someone like Alex Collins being demonstrably better. Maybe Collins has wowed in practices and I’ve just never seen it; but whenever I’ve seen him in actual games, he’s underwhelmed as hell. I think the team likes his potential, and they like the fact that he’s under club control for three more years, but he’s still the clear third running back on this team by a large margin. Christine Michael just played his way off this team, for reasons that are clear to everyone who has eyes.
I’m banging this out pretty quickly, so I don’t know who the player is that’s going to replace him on the 53-man, but I assume we’ll find out shortly. The thing is, with three running backs already active, and with Will Tukuafu still playing regularly, unless they’re worried about Rawls re-injuring himself, they don’t HAVE to sign a running back to the roster. They could, but they don’t have to.
Which is just my way of transitioning into: what about Troymaine Pope? He was signed to our practice squad recently with little fanfare, but he’s a nifty little runner who impressed everyone in the pre-season. I know it’s a longshot he would get any playing time (or even be active on gamedays), but boy would I like to see him get a shot.
Anyway, that’s it. The Seahawks got rid of a running back who wasn’t even under contract for next year anyway, and I think it’s appropriate. Once everyone realized he wasn’t a good fit, it was pretty clear he also wasn’t in the team’s longterm plans. And, should the injury bug strike again, I think we have enough on the roster now to get us by.