Seahawks fans have enjoyed several pleasant surprises this season, the most recent being the play of backup safety Ryan Neal. He’s performed so well that he’s now the highest-graded safety in the NFL this season according to Pro Football Focus.
Unfortunately, Neal has been ruled out for tomorrow’s game against the Chiefs due to a knee injury. Asked yesterday what the plan was, coach Pete Carrol said the team would rotate Teez Tabor and Johnathan Abram at the safety spot opposite Quandre Diggs.
With Ryan Neal out, Pete Carroll said both Teez Tabor and Johnathan Abraham will see playing time at safety.
— John Boyle (@johnpboyle) December 22, 2022
One can see why Carroll likes Abram’s game – his physicality and range in particular make him valuable near the box. However, coverage is far from his strong suit. Meanwhile, Tabor has never really caught on after the Lions picked him in the second round of the 2017 draft and this is his first season playing safety.
Going against Patrick Mahomes this is pretty far from an ideal situation.
Looking ahead, Neal will be a restricted free agent next year so it’ll be easy for the Seahawks to bring him back. The question is whether or not he could replace Jamal Adams, who hasn’t been able to stay on the field.
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