Seahawks 30 under 30: Mike Morgan hoping for a breakout at 28

The Seattle Seahawks have a very good roster, but what's especially nice and hopeful about their team is that the vast majority of current Seahawks are young and signed through 2017, at least. This series leading up to the regular season opener on September 11 will take a closer look at 30 such players, all of whom won't be turning 30 this year.

Player: Mike Morgan, LB

Age: 28

How acquired: UDFA in 2011

Free agent: 2017

Is Mike Morgan still worthy of a 30 under 30 spot? When I started to plan for this series, I thought that a 28-year-old potential starter at SAM linebacker and a potentially-elite special teams player with five seasons of experience under Pete Carroll in the NFL (and more at the college level) was a fair choice for the list, but Pete’s famous push for competition may be keeping one of his favorite players on the sidelines for defensive snaps once again.

During training camp so far, it seems like Cassius Marsh and Eric Pinkins have taken full advantage of their reps with the ones at SAM and it would be kind of surprising if one of the younger guys who we haven’t seen much of yet during the regular season got beat out by a linebacker who has had years and years to win a job from Carroll that isn’t on special teams.

As a leader and veteran influence, Morgan is worthy of being named as one of the top 30 players on the Seahawks. I think his job is secure in 2016. But as someone who stars for more than a few snaps a game on defense, it’s reasonable to wonder if that day will never come.