Seahawks to re-sign Josh Portis, per report

According to Chris Mortensen, the Seahawks plan to re-sign QB Josh Portis. Portis was signed as a UDFA out of Cal (Pennsylvania) back in 2011, was on the active roster that whole season, and went to the practice squad for much of 2012 after Seattle acquired both Matt Flynn and Russell Wilson and decided to go with two active roster quarterbacks.

Portis was released following Seattle's loss to Miami in Week 12 and went on to sign with the Toronto Argonauts. He'll now return to Seattle - CFL teams often have contract clauses that allow their players to return to the NFL if they get that opportunity - and compete in camp for a spot on the roster. I'm guessing Seattle will still go out and sign a veteran free agent and look to acquire a developmental prospect in the Draft, either with one of their ten picks or amongst the UDFA ranks. Nonetheless, Portis immediately has a leg up on his competition because of his experience in the program.

In theory, Portis is a very good fit as a backup to Russell Wilson - very mobile with a strong throwing arm - and it will be interesting to see how much he's developed over the past year or so. Seattle liked him enough his rookie season to keep him on the active roster all year, and though interest obviously waned in 2012 to the point in which he was released from the practice squad, he's still potentially a viable competitor for the backup position this year.

Portis was a blue chip recruit out of high school (2005), receiving offers from Florida, Maryland, Kansas State, Oregon, Oregon State, Utah, and Washington. He went with Florida but soon found himself down the depth chart and struggling to find playing time. In 2006, he transferred to Maryland, sat out for a year as per NCAA rules, sat out the subsequent season due to a violation of the school's honor code, and then after serving as a backup, transferred to Cal PA. He lit it up at Cal PA for two seasons but obviously, the damage to his pro prospects had been done.

As said, he signed with the Seahawks as a UDFA soon became a fan favorite with some high quality play in the preseason. That level of play didn't carry over to the 2012 preseason and he saw very limited opportunity for snaps, but nonetheless he stuck around with the team for a large part of the year before being released in late November. It looks like he'll get another chance to make a impact this year.