| Seahawks defensive back Deshawn Shead sustained a torn ACL in a playoff loss to the Atlanta Falcons. After re-signing with Seattle on Saturday following a year with the Detroit Lions Earl Thomas Color Rush Jersey , Shead says his knee finally feels back to 100 percent.“Man, I feel night and day better,” Shead said. “From even over a year ago. Starting at the beginning of last season my knee was still kind of, I would get kind of sore after practice, or you could see the limitations during the game. It wasn’t until later on in the season last year to where I started to feel normal again. And this offseason I actually got to train instead of rehab. There’s a big difference.”Shead appeared in only two games for the Seahawks in 2017 while coming back from the injury. He spent the first three-plus months of the season on the physically unable to perform list before returning for the last two games of the year. Due to the extended stay on the PUP list, Shead’s contract tolled for the 2018 season, meaning he would remain under contract with Seattle for the following year despite only having signed a one-year deal to remain with the team the year before. Instead, the Seahawks released him to allow him the shot he should have had at free agency.“For them to be able to release me and have an opportunity to go out there and look for a contract was actually a sign of respect so I definitely respected that,” Shead said.Shead signed a one-year deal with the Lions and appeared in 12 games for the team last season. However, the knee continued to be a nagging annoyance until the latter stages of the season. It’s something he now believes to finally be in the rear-view mirror.“I do feel all the way back, I don’t think twice about my knee, my breaks, in and out of breaks, I’m more elusive, my speed is back. So, now it’s just putting it back on the field, putting it back on the field, getting back to it J.R. Sweezy Color Rush Jersey , and do what I know,” Shead said.Added head coach Pete Carroll: “He came out here on the field the other day and he looked great, he looked as good as he’s ever looked. Quick and strong and fit and in shape. … I’m thrilled that he’s back with us and thrilled for him that he was able to get back physically, because he had a serious injury that he played with but only late in the year did he start to pop out of it and really start to gain some confidence that he could do stuff in a normal fashion.” If Russell Wilson never wins an MVP award, one of the likely culprits will be a lack of high-volume passing. Even if Wilson is tied in fourth place for touchdown passes with Philip Rivers and Drew Brees, Wilson gets far less awards consideration than Patrick Mahomes, Andrew Luck, Rivers, and Brees. I believe a part of that perception that downgrades Wilson in the eyes of the media and therefore the public is that he’s 22nd in pass attempts and if he’s not being asked to make as many plays, maybe it’s because he’s not as important.There are other factors we must consider too, and when you bring them all together, I think Mahomes’ case for 2018 MVP becomes pretty clear anyway.His Kansas City Chiefs, Wilson’s opponent this Sunday night, are 11-3. He’s got 45 touchdown passes, 11 more than any other player. He’s first in yards per attempt among relevant QBs. He’s moving ahead of Brees in passer rating. And he’s got the volume, ranking sixth in attempts. Basically, Mahomes has comparable rate stats to Wilson, if not a little better Quinton Jefferson Color Rush Jersey , and at a much higher volume. I have no question in my mind that Mahomes has been the MVP this season and rarely do I believe that a person is so clearly the right choice.Which is crazy to consider when you recall that John Schneider interestingly attended his pro day in 2017 and that the Seahawks were rumored to be considering drafting Mahomes in the first round that year if the Chiefs hadn’t traded up and selected him 10th overall.Schneider could be seen as one of two GMs at Mahomes’ pro day, along with John Lynch of the San Francisco 49ers, who opted instead to take Solomon Thomas and then trade for Jimmy Garoppolo midseason rather than take Mahomes or Deshaun Watson. NFL Network’s Mike Mayock also reported that New York Giants head coach Ben McAdoo was there, and he’d be fired less than a year later. We can also see the QB coaches for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Washington footballs in attendance, and we know what’s happened for those teams recently as far as quarterback problems.The big difference between those teams at that time and Seattle was of course that the Seahawks have Wilson. But Schnneider didn’t go to Texas Tech that day to see anyone other than Mahomes and while he ended up going 10th overall, it was unclear if he’d be a first round pick so Seattle may have thought they had their chance. That went away when Kansas City made the move of the day, giving up two firsts and a third to get Mahomes even though they already had Alex Smith.The team ended up getting back a third rounder and cornerback Kendall Fuller in dealing Smith to Washington, one of the teams that didn’t pick Mahomes despite being at his pro day.For as long as Wilson is on the Seahawks, I expect the team to show interest in young quarterbacks in the draft and around the league, simply because I believe the front office sees value in the position and having options. The Green Bay Packers got Aaron Rodgers this way. The New England Patriots got some value back while having a quality backup for four years when selecting Jimmy Garoppolo. And the Chiefs found Mahomes this way, though Smith isn’t on the level of Wilson. We’ll never know what would have happened if Schneider had gotten the opportunity to take Mahomes, but I do believe the interest was real.On Sunday night, with both teams needing a win to secure a playoff-related goal, the two sides will get their closest looks at each other yet. Let’s hope that the MVP on this night at least is the QB the Seahawks have, not the QB that they may have wanted to have next. |
