Seahawks News & Rumors: NFL Trade Deadline, Injury Updates, Misc Meandering Thoughts...

So, if you read my article over at SBN Seattle yesterday this might be a little redundant but I thought it would be a good time to take stock on some things that are going on with the Seahawks right now. 

Trade Deadline:

First of all, the NFL trade deadline is tomorrow so if the Seahawks are going to make some moves to pick up some draft picks or even players, they're going to have to do so today. I have to think that Schneidy is on the phone right now - he's not exactly a guy to stand pat and be satisfied with what he's got. Rumored players that COULD be on the trade block include:

RB Justin Forsett - though we all love Forsett, he does represent some possible trade value to the Hawks, considering they have Marshawn Lynch in front of him, Leon Washington either in front of him or closely behind him, promising practice squad player Vai Taua, and now Allen Bradford waiting in the wings. I'm not advocating the trade of Forsett, but I can see why some people consider him expendable. 

Considering the addition of Mike Morgan to the practice squad precipitated the Aaron Curry trade, you could very, very loosely surmise that the Allen Bradford signing may precipitate another RB being traded, but that's just wild boredom induced conjecture on my part. 

WR Golden Tate - another guy who might seem expendable at the moment. I definitely am not advocating this, but with the emergence of Doug Baldwin and the signing of Sidney Rice he's fallen down the depth chart. Kris Durham is a promising young receiver and Ben Obomanu has been holding it down during Mike Williams' battles with injury this season. Speaking of Obo...

WR Ben Obomanu - pretty much the same line of thinking here. The Hawks have built up quite a bit of depth at WR and Obomanu may have some value, however minuscule, on the trade market. Teams looking for a disciplined route runner with fairly dependable hands might inquire - the Jets recently traded Derrick Mason to the Texans for a conditional 7th round pick and as we saw today, the Rams just picked up Brandon Lloyd for a conditional 5th, I believe. I don't know if I can say with any certainty that either of those players is much better or worse than Ben Obomanu - Lloyd put up better numbers last year but is a journeyman and Mason isn't getting any younger or more spritely. Anyway, I suppose Obomanu COULD have value to a WR-needy team.

As I look over our defense there aren't any glaring trade candidates, except maybe Marcus Trufant. Which I doubt will happen, as he's injury prone and has a pretty big contract. I suppose the Hawks could Aaron Curry him and eat almost all of his contract, but the difference is that Trufant has been playing pretty well in the role the Seahawks have him in. 

The Roster:

The Seahawks currently have one open spot on their roster that's just burning a hole in John Schneider's pocket. There are a few routes that can be taken to fill it, including a trade, free agent signing, a practice squad signing, or a PUP list activation. 

The practice squad is currently made up of offensive linemen Paul Fanaika, Brent Osborne, cornerback/safety Chris Maragos, defensive end Lazarius Levingston, wide receiver Ricardo Lockette, running back Vai Taua, TE John Nalbone, and linebacker Mike Morgan.

Of those guys, I'd say I suppose the most likely active roster candidate would be Mike Morgan, because of Aaron Curry's trade and Matt McCoy's injury. The Hawks are down to Leroy Hill, David Hawthorne, K.J. Wright, Malcolm Smith and David Vobora in their linebacker corps so they'll probably need to address this. 

The other thing to keep in mind is that TE Zach Miller's injury hasn't yet been detailed and if he misses any significant time they Hawks are down to one healthy TE. Options? TE John Nalbone could get called up from the practice squad, ole Dominique Byrd could get a call, and/or Cameron Morrah could return to the team from the PUP. Speaking of the PUP...

Physically Unable to Perform List: 

Here is how the PUP works: If a player is placed on the PUP list to start the season, they can't play for the first six games. They are also not allowed to practice with the team during those first six weeks. This is now week seven. 

Starting today, the PUP list player has three weeks to begin practicing with the team. If he is unable to start practicing with the team during these next three weeks, he has to go on IR and thus miss the rest of the season.

From the time that the player starts practicing with the team, the team has three more weeks to add the player to the 53-man roster.

In summary, there are four relevant dates:

Start of season: If you're on PUP, you have to sit out 6 weeks. This is what happened with Butler, Morrah, and Lewis.
Week Seven: now you're allowed to practice. This is today.
Week Ten: if you're not practicing by now, you're on IR.
Week Thirteen: if you're not on the 53-man roster by now, you're on IR.

The Seahawks current PUP players are DB Roy Lewis, TE Cameron Morrah, and WR Deon Butler. Roy Lewis is practicing today. I'm not sure about Morrah or Butler. John Boyle, beat writer for the Everette Herald, was telling me the other day that he's heard all three are close to returning to full speed. That means there will be some decisions on this trio pretty soon. 

Injuries:

Tarvaris Jackson: Still no word on his 'high-grade' pectoral strain. Zach Miller: Still no word on his shoulder/head injury. Rumor has it that Robert Gallery is progressing well and could return this week. Mike Williams should return from a concussion. Leroy Hill was hobbled last game by a hamstring injury. Haven't heard how he's doing. Malcolm Smith had a similar issue and Byron Maxwell is still recovering from a high ankle sprain so he should be back soon.

My guess is that in the next couple of days, or possibly even today, we'll find out more about these and then I'll update accordingly. 

Thoughts on all this??