Yesterday brought news that both Malcolm Smith and Korey Toomer returned to practice in a limited capacity for the Seahawks. Both will hopefully play in the preseason game against Chicago on Friday night. Smith is a known quantity and will surely be on the 53 man roster this season. Toomer, on the other hand, is an enigma.
Toomer is an uber-athlete who has unfortunately been bitten by the injury bug over the past few seasons. He's over 6' 2", weighs 234 and ran a 4.53 forty. His short shuttle time was an impressive 4.0 and he registered an explosive 42" vertical jump. This guy is a potential playmaker at either SAM or WILL.
Unfortunately, that word "potential" is the key. Korey wasn't available for training camp last year and the year on the non-football injury portion of injured reserve. This year, he tore up OTAs and was regularly singled out by coaches and players as being ready to step into an important role with the Seahawks. Then, Toomer suffered a hamstring strain that has caused him to miss all of training camp up to this point. He still has 2 preseason games to show whether he belongs on the final roster and I imagine he will play extensively.
Toomer will need to show up on special teams in order to secure a spot. During OTAs, I remember reading that Korey was on the 1st string for the main special teams groups. We don't really know what he can do on the defensive side, so these preseason games are truly pivotal for him. Any spot on the roster would come at the expense of Mike Morgan.
Personally, I'm not a huge fan of Morgan, but he's not a liability either. With Toomer being on the NFI list, he still has 4 years of club control at a cheap price compared to 2 for Morgan. I'm really pulling for Korey and hope he balls out and makes the roster. If he doesn't, there's a chance we could still sneak him through waivers...but I wouldn't bet on it with Gus down in JAX.
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