Down Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor, the Seahawks’ depleted secondary could receive a boost in the near future. DeShawn Shead practiced for the first time since he tore his left ACL in the playoffs, Stefanie Loh of the Seattle Times reports.
Shead’s recovery has taken almost a year because of two surgeries, a second in July, and he remains on the PUP list. The Seahawks have three weeks to decide if he’s healthy enough to make a contribution in what’s been a lost season for the sixth-year corner. Loh notes a Week 15 return isn’t off the table, although that might also be optimistic given how long it’s taken him to merely return to practice.
Shead was a full-time starter opposite Sherman last season and a part-timer in 2015. He deflected 14 passes and made 90 tackles last season, and after the ill-timed injury, re-signed with the Seahawks this offseason.
He’s attempting to return to a secondary that needs him. Rookie Shaquill Griffin and second-stint Seahawk Byron Maxwell are the team’s current starting corners. A Shead re-emergence would supply vital depth at the worst and, if he’s truly close to his 2016 form, a starter-level talent capable of making a difference in a complex NFC playoff race.