Tag: Neiko Thorpe

Seattle Seahawks 2020 free agent profile: Cornerback Neiko Thorpe

Will the Seattle Seahawks bring back key special teams contributor Neiko Thorpe, or will a revamped secondary push him out in 2020?

*The Seattle Seahawks are heading into the 2020 offseason with 19 players set to become unrestricted free agents, which should make for another busy spring and summer for Pete Carroll and John Schneider as they look to shore up the roster and contend for the number one seed in the NFC again next year.*

Our Seahawks Wire series on Seattle’s free agents continues with cornerback Neiko Thorpe.

For the fourth straight year, the Seahawks used defensive back Neiko Thorpe as a core special teams contributor. Injuries limited the former Auburn star to just seven games, however, and he wasn’t exceptionally productive on special teams – or when he was asked to play defense as an injury replacement.

All told, the soon-to-be 30-year-old racked up just four combined tackles last year, earning a 58.9 grade from Pro Football Focus.

Thorpe has not proven himself as a defensive player, and while the Seahawks could look to bring him back as a special teams contributor, it seems almost certain they’ll look to revamp their depth at cornerback – which could spell the end of his tenure in the Emerald City.

[vertical-gallery id=54929]

Should the Seahawks pursue CFL cornerback Tre Roberson?

The Seattle Seahawks have added players from the CFL before, and CB Tre Roberson is a player worth exploring for Pete Carroll and company.

The Seattle Seahawks will be in the market for some help in their secondary this offseason.

While Shaquill Griffin was a Pro Bowler, the rest of the team’s cornerback group left plenty to be desired. Tre Flowers got exposed in a major way against Davante Adams and the Packers in the NFC Divisional Round, and Seattle’s backups – Akeem King and Neiko Thorpe – are both free agents who have not proven themselves as reliable DB’s when called upon.

While Ugo Amadi stepped into the nickel role nicely near the end of the year, Seattle needs to find some more depth pieces this offseason, and potentially someone to challenge Flowers for his starting role.

While free agency and the draft both promise plenty of options, Seattle could take a familiar route to finding that added depth: via the CFL.

Tre Roberson is a cornerback for the Calgary Stampeders, and after two excellent seasons with them, the former Indiana quarterback is getting all sorts of attention from NFL teams.

Roberson has reportedly already visited with nine NFL teams, with five more on the schedule. While Seattle is not one of them, it wouldn’t be surprising if Pete Carroll and company take a hard look at adding Roberson to the mix.

Seattle brought a defensive back from the CFL to the NFL once, when they signed Brandon Browner and made him one of the original members of the Legion of Boom.

Roberson may not have that kind of impact, but if he can add key depth and versatility to Seattle’s secondary, he should be given a close look by the staff.

[lawrence-related id=55114]

Key special teams contributor Nick Bellore expected back Week 15

Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll believes that fullback/special teamer Nick Bellore will be able to suit up on Sunday against Carolina.

The Seattle Seahawks took a hit to their special teams unit with the news that Neiko Thorpe was placed on the injured reserve with a sports hernia and will miss the rest of the season.

Thorpe’s presence has long been a big part of the punt and kick coverage teams for the Seahawks, and while they will miss him in the final three regular season games – he was the captain of the special teams after all – coach Pete Carroll did relay some good news on Wednesday about fellow core special teamer, fullback Nick Bellore.

“Nick’s got a chance to come back, he’s going to practice today,” Carroll said. “We’re thinking if he makes it through the week he should be able to play for us. That’s a big plus for us coming back. He’s been a real factor in teams, a real good factor for us. So, we’re looking forward to him coming back.”

Bellore has appeared in 11 games for Seattle this season, but he missed the last two weeks with a quad strain. He has one reception for 20 yards on the year, along with a fumble recovery on teams.

His veteran presence will help steady a young group of special teamers that will be without Thorpe for the rest of year.

[lawrence-related id=52657]

Seahawks promote Ryan Neal, place Neiko Thorpe on injured reserve

The Seattle Seahawks placed Neiko Thorpe on the injured reserve and promoted safety Ryan Neal from the practice squad to take his place.

The Seattle Seahawks officially placed cornerback Neiko Thorpe (sports hernia) on the injured reserve, ending his season. Thorpe’s roster spot went to fellow defensive back Ryan Neal, who was promoted from the practice squad to take his place.

Neal was originally an undrafted free agent out of Southern Illinois. He spent time with the Falcons last season, appearing in one game, but has been on Seattle’s practice squad since Week 1 of the season.

He’ll likely take over as a special teams contributor for the Seahawks in place of Thorpe, who has served as the team’s special teams captain for the past few years.

Seattle also added running back Xavier Turner to the practice squad to take the place of Neal. Turner is added depth at running back, following the ACL injury suffered by Rashaad Penny on Sunday night.

Turner spent part of the preseason with the Seahawks, appearing in all four preseason games and rushing 17 times for 71 yards.

Penny is expected to be placed on the injured reserve, likely to clear room for offensive lineman Ethan Pocic to be activated from IR.

[lawrence-related id=52620]

Pete Carroll updates Seahawks injuries ahead of Rams Week 14

Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll provided a number of player injury updates ahead of the Week 14 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams.

Following the team’s walkthrough on Friday, Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll provided a number of player injury updates ahead of the Week 14 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams.

Cornerback Neiko Thorpe (core) has been ruled out for Sunday night after undergoing hernia surgery and will be shut down for the remainder of the year. He is the only player Seattle officially listed as “out” for the contest.

Defensive ends Ziggy Ansah (neck) and Jadeveon Clowney (core) will both be game-day decisions. “We’ll check those guy both out,” Carroll said. “They did practice enough this week where we feel good about it. But we’ve got to check them out on game day.”

Linebacker Mychal Kendricks is doubtful to play Week 14 with a hamstring injury and Cody Barton is likely to hear his number called Sunday night as Kendricks’ replacement.

Tight end Luke Willson (hamstring) and fullback Nick Bellore (quadriceps) are also doubtful for Sunday against the Rams.

[lawrence-related id=52344]

Neiko Thorpe out for the season after having sports hernia surgery

Seattle Seahawks core special teamer Neiko Thorpe had surgery to repair a sports hernia, and will miss the rest of the 2019 season.

The Seattle Seahawks lost a key piece of their special teams unit after coach Pete Carroll announced on Friday that Neiko Thorpe had surgery for a sports hernia, and will miss the rest of the 2019 season.

“Neiko had surgery for an athletic hernia,” Carroll commented. “He is coming back from Philadelphia today. He will be done.”

Philadelphia is where Dr. William Meyers works. Dr. Meyers performed sports hernia surgeries on Doug Baldwin and Jarran Reed in the past year, and also visited with Jadeveon Clowney a few weeks ago when the Seahawks played the Eagles. It’s unclear if that’s why Thorpe was in Philadelphia, but it certainly adds up.

Thorpe appeared in seven games for the Seahawks this year, racking up four solo tackles. He did most of his work on the special teams, although he did play 13 defensive snaps against the Falcons in Week 8 as an injury replacement.

Carroll did not specify if Thorpe will be placed on the injured reserve, but it would make sense for the team to do so, as they will eventually need to clear a roster spot for Ethan Pocic to officially return from IR.

[lawrence-related id=52335]

Pete Carroll confident Jadeveon Clowney, Jarran Reed will play Monday

Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll is confident that Jadeveon Clowney, Jarran Reed and Al Woods will all suit up on Monday night.

The Seattle Seahawks listed five players as questionable ahead of their Monday night matchup with the Minnesota Vikings, but coach Pete Carroll is optimistic many – if not all – of them will play.

Jadeveon Clowney, Jarran Reed, Mychal Kendricks, Al Woods and Luke Willson – all starters or important contributors – were listed as questionable ahead of Saturday afternoon’s practice.

Clowney is the most notable, having sat out last week against the Eagles with a core injury that will not require surgery, but will force him to play through pain for the rest of the year.

“We practiced him very lightly today but he did well yesterday,” Carroll said on Saturday. “He should be ready to go.”

Clowney is expected to be joined on the defensive line by both Reed and Woods. Reed suffered an ankle injury against the Eagles, but after being limited at practice this week he is expected to be recovered in time to play against Minnesota.

Woods is also dealing with an ankle injury, although it sounds like his situation is more veteran rest than anything else.

“He had a sore foot, we just made sure to give him some rest on it,” Carroll said. “He practiced today and looked fine. This is the time of the year where those guys, they ain’t gonna be perfect but they all feel like they can play.”

While Carroll was optimistic about his three defensive linemen, he was less confident about Kendricks and Willson – who are both dealing with hamstring injuries.

“He had a little tightness in his hammy yesterday so we thought we’d rest him today and get him a couple days here to cool him down,” Carroll said about Kendricks. “He takes a lot of reps in practices and so we thought it would be best to just rest him. We’ll see what happens. We’ll need to check him on game day though.”

Kendricks is the team’s SAM linebacker and has played a lot this year with the team sticking primarily in their base 4-3 defense. If he is unable to go, expect to see a lot of Cody Barton, and potentially more of either Akeem King or Ugo Amadi in the nickel role.

Willson missed last Sunday’s game against Philadelphia with a hamstring injury, but Carroll has continued to be pleased with how rapidly he has worked to recover and get back on the field.

“He made really good progress, he was flying up and down the field,” Carroll said. “We just gotta be careful, we just don’t want it to linger. We’ll wait to make a decision on this one.”

Willson is a big part of Seattle’s offense, but the recent play of Jacob Hollister and the promotion of Tyrone Swoopes from the practice squad allows the team to give Willson some extra recovery time, if needed.

[lawrence-related id=51926]

Pete Carroll calls Luke Willson ‘probable-doubtful’ for Sunday

Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll created a new injury designation for Luke Willson, calling him “probable-doubtful” for Sunday’s game.

The Seattle Seahawks final injury report of the week listed veteran tight end Luke Willson as doubtful, likely clearing the way for Jacob Hollister and Tyrone Swoopes to handle the tight end duties on Sunday against the Eagles in Philadelphia.

However, coach Pete Carroll wanted everyone to know that, while Willson’s official title is doubtful, he wishes he could have categorized him differently.

“We’ve got Luke listed as officially doubtful,” Carroll said. “I have him as probable doubtful. I don’t know that that’s an official category, but I just can’t go with the doubtful thing in my mind. We’ve got to say something, so we’re calling him probable doubtful on my list. We’ll see what happens.”

Carroll was quick to clarify that probable doubtful is not the same as questionable – which is how they listed Jadeveon Clowney and Neiko Thorpe – saying, “it’s a category all its own.”

“This is the first,” Carroll continued. “It’s only fitting that it’s Luke.”

Carroll’s quipping aside, it is encouraging that despite being listed as doubtful there is an unusual amount of optimism surrounding Willson’s hamstring injury.

Of course, doubtful is still not a good sign for Willson, and the Seahawks will most likely go into Sunday’s bout with two former practice squad members – Hollister and Swoopes – as the primary tight ends.

[lawrence-related id=51445]