Should the Seahawks call up an old friend to help them at receiver?

The Seattle Seahawks have shown interest at Jordy Nelson, so it would seem then that they do not feel comfortable going into training camp with only David Moore, Amara Darboh, Jaron Brown, and some lesser talked about options as the ones duking it out for number three. An interest in Nelson would suggest that they’re even open to signing a favorite to win that job, though Nelson turns 34 in May and his yardage total in 2018 is heavily inflated by one game.

I imagine they’re only signing Nelson if it’s for a Brandon Marshall like contract, but there are still other options out there.

Among the remaining free agents, you won’t find a single name that makes you feel great about the position even if he were signed. Michael Crabtree, Dontrelle Inman, Terrance Williams, Ryan Grant, Mike Wallace, Chris Hogan, and so on. Then there is one name that pops out for several reasons and spoiler alert: you saw the headline and picture.

Jermaine Kearse is of course familiar with Russell Wilson, Pete Carroll, and the Seattle offense, having played for the Seahawks for five years, even coming into the league as one of the closest people to Wilson during that rookie transition. In the two years since being traded to the New York Jets, Kearse has 102 catches, 1,181 yards and six touchdowns while playing with Josh McCown and Sam Darnold. He’s now had the experience of being one of the top two targets on a team, so maybe he’d been even more comfortable next to Doug Baldwin, Tyler Lockett, and with Wilson throwing to him again.

Another good mark in Kearse’s favor is that at 29, he’s one of the youngest free agent receivers on the market. I would also say that he’s not such a sure thing to win the job that it’s beneficial to the development of Moore, Darboh, Malik Turner, or someone they choose to draft or sign afterwards. It would be a competition and one with a veteran who clearly knows how to compete in the ways that Pete wants his players to compete. He’d help the young guys by putting forth his best effort to beat them.

It’s funny because before they signed Kearse to a new contract in 2016, I heavily advocated against it. I felt Kearse had a pretty low ceiling (and still do recognize those limitations) but in the current situation of the player and the team, including the much lower dollar figure to sign him, it makes a lot more sense today.

The San Francisco 49ers are rumored to be interested, of course, and there’s been nothing linking Kearse and the Seahawks other than other articles like this one that ask if they should, would, or could. I personally think they should at least be talking to him, and I assume that they probably have.