Seahawks Sign WR Owen Spencer, Release G Brent Osborne

The Seahawks signed free agent wide receiver Owen Spencer today and released guard Brent Osborne to make room for him on their 80-man roster. Though these types of moves rarely mean anything, my guess is that Spencer was on John Schneider and Pete Carroll's radar after the Draft but didn't get their man when all the UDFAs signed.

Spencer was actually pretty highly rated and sought-after as an undrafted rookie, receiving a $12,000 signing bonus from the Titans, and ex-NFL scout Russ Lande had him ranked as the 4th best undrafted free agent (among all players) on his list of 'The Best of the Rest'. Lande had him above other receivers like Jeff Maehl and Terrence Toliver, so I suppose this type of signing might be more interesting than the normal roster churn you see right before a preseason game. Spencer failed to catch a pass with the Titans but he was catching passes from a guy that depends on precision from his receivers (Matt Hasselbeck), a rookie that was known for being a bit inaccurate (Jake Locker) and a guy that isn't very good at throwing a football (Rusty Smith). So who knows what that means. 

Typically, this type of signing indicates an injury or two at the position and the need to add bodies before the game, but with Patrick Williams and Chris Carter re-signing yesterday I wouldn't think depth is the issue (though Sidney Rice and Ben Obomanu are banged up). I suppose there's a chance the Seahawks have an interest in Spencer longer-term but in reality he'll have a very short amount of time to show them anything. At best, the Seahawks might just be bringing him over with the thought he might fit on their practice squad and have more upside than Carter or Williams (or maybe even Lockette). Regardless, he'll have about 24 hours to learn the playbook. Good luck.

According to the scouting reports I've seen, he's average speed at 6'2, 195 and projects to be a possession receiver in the NFL. This sort of goes against what he was known for in college at NC State as a deep threat. He led the nation in 2009 at 25.5 yards per catch (redonkulous) and fell down to earth but had a still respectable 15.2 ypc in 2010. CBS compared him to the Bills' Stevie Johnson. 

Past that I don't really know what to tell you because as some commenters pointed out in an earlier post, pretty much every scouting report you read contradicts the next. He runs good routes. He's not a crisp route runner. He's good after the catch. He's not strong after the catch. He's got great hands. He's a body catcher. I don't know. I haven't watched film on him so I don't want to blow smoke up your ass on this. Like I said, my guess is that he was on the Seahawks radar after the Draft, they couldn't sign him as a free agent, but he was dropped by the Titans on Sunday so now the Hawks want to take a look. I'd be surprised if anything came of it, but this is what the preseason is for. 

The Seahawks now have twelve receivers on their roster -- Mike Williams, Sidney Rice, Kris Durham, Golden Tate, Ben Obomanu, Doug Baldwin, Patrick Williams, Chris Carter, Ricardo Lockette, Isaiah Stanback, Deon Butler, and Owen Spencer.