DeShawn Shead - Pro Football Rumors

Seahawks Hope To Keep DeShawn Shead

March 12th, 2018 at 12:44pm CST by Zachary Links

The Seahawks are planning to release DeShawn Shead on Monday in a procedural move, but they hope to re-sign him, as Brady Henderson of ESPN.com writes. Shead’s contract tolled, but Seattle is honoring a promise made to him by allowing him to explore free agency.

The Seahawks will be up against other suitors for the 28-year-old (29 in June), including the Lions. After moving on from Richard Sherman and Jeremy Lane in recent days, the Seahawks would ideally like to maintain some consistency in the secondary.

The Seahawks have four cornerbacks under contract for 2018, but only one – Shaquill Griffin – has started for the team.

DeShawn Shead Planning To Visit Lions

March 11th, 2018 at 4:47pm CST by Sam Robinson

In a full rebuild of their cornerback corps, the Seahawks are expected to release DeShawn Shead once his contract tolls on Monday. This comes after Seattle parted ways with Richard Sherman and Jeremy Lane.

Sherman was rumored to be squarely on the Lions’ radar, but the 49ers signed him. It appears Detroit is also interested in Shead. The corner’s agent, Cameron Foster, told KJR Radio’s Curtis Crabtree (via Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk) that Shead has a visit scheduled with the Lions on Wednesday.

Shead returned from a broken leg to play in two games last season for the Seahawks, but it wasn’t enough to accrue a year toward free agency. But the Seahawks will send him there anyway. Shead, who will turn 30 in June, was Seattle’s full-time right cornerback opposite Sherman in 2016. A former UDFA, Shead broke his leg in the Seahawks’ divisional-round loss to the Falcons in the ’16 playoffs.

Detroit has Darius Slay signed long-term but has a need at corner. And Shead won’t cost remotely what the 49ers paid Sherman.

Seahawks To Release CB DeShawn Shead

March 10th, 2018 at 8:25pm CST by Micah Powell

The Seahawks plan to release cornerback DeShawn Shead on Monday after his contract tolls to give him a chance to become an unrestricted free agent, 950 KJR in Seattle’s Curtis Crabtree hears from the player’s agent Cameron Foster.

According to ESPN’s Brady Henderson (Twitter link), the Seahawks are honoring their statement to allow him to become a free agent despite the NFL recently deciding that his contract should toll. Shead has a meeting scheduled with the Lions, but Henderson also adds the team is hoping to bring back the veteran cornerback, who missed all but two games in 2017 in his return from tearing his ACL in a playoff game against Atlanta in January. The move is not related to the team’s recent defensive transactions that have seen the departures of Richard Sherman, Michael Bennett and Jeremy Lane.

According to the collective bargaining agreement, a player’s contract will toll — roll over to the 2018 season — if a player in the final year of his contract remains on the physically unable to perform list past the sixth game of the season. A restricted free agent in 2016, Shead signed a one-year deal with the Seahawks for $1.2 MM. He would be owed that same amount in 2018 if his contract tolled. Foster commended the team for the move.

“They called me and they said, ‘just giving you a heads up that we’re going to release DeShawn on Monday, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want him. That means we are living up to our word and we’re going to release him, otherwise his contract would be required to toll.’ So kudos to the Seahawks for doing the right thing.”

Shead signed with the Seahawks in 2012 after going undrafted coming out of Portland State. The following season he was promoted from the practice team and helped the Seahawks win Super Bowl XLVIII over the Broncos. In 2016, he started 15 games and registered an interception with 14 passes defensed.

FA Notes: Burkhead, Seahawks, Broncos

March 1st, 2018 at 8:33pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Free agent running back Rex Burkhead is expected to see a “competitive market” for his services and it’s not a lock that he re-signs with the Patriots, according to Doug Kyed of NESN. Burkhead, 27, inked a one-year deal with New England last offseason and went on to produce 518 yards from scrimmage in 10 games. Viable in both the running and passing game, Burkhead ranked seventh in receiving DVOA in 2017, meaning he was highly effective on a per-play basis. The Patriots, of course, have another free agent running back in Dion Lewis, who is expected to draw interest from six-to-seven teams on the open market.

Here’s more from the free agent front:

The Texans and cornerback Johnathan Joseph have mutual interest in a return, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Joseph, 33, has spent the past seven seasons in Houston after beginning his career in Cincinnati. Last year, Joseph started all 16 games for the Texans and managed two interceptions. Even more impressive, Joseph ranked 21st in Football Outsiders’ success rate, meaning he was excellent at stopping wideouts short of the sticks. If he does re-sign with Houston, Joseph will need to accept less than the $7.3MM annual salary he earned under his previous contract, per Wilson, who adds Joseph would also likely see a reduced role in the Texans’ secondary.
With Kam Chancellor‘s status for the 2018 season in doubt, the Seahawks have discussed moving cornerback DeShawn Shead to safety, reports Brady Henderson of ESPN.com. Shead is a free agent, so Seattle would have to re-sign him if it wants him to play safety, but the club clearly has interest in retaining him. A 15-game starter as recently as 2015, Shead tore his ACL in January 2016 and took awhile to recover. Two surgeries later, Shead is hitting the free agent market after appearing in only two contests a season ago. Fellow reserve defensive back Bradley McDougald is also a pending free agent, so the Seahawks will need to work to retain their secondary depth this offseason.
Although the Broncos would prefer to re-sign linebacker Todd Davis, they will likely allow him to gauge his value on the open market, general manager John Elway told reporters, including Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post (Twitter link). The Broncos plan to meet with the representatives for both Davis and fellow linebacker Corey Nelson on Saturday, per Jhabala. Davis, for his part, has started 29 games for Denver over the past two seasons. Now 25 years old, Davis graded as the No. 34 linebacker among 87 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus.

Seahawks To Activate CB DeShawn Shead

December 23rd, 2017 at 3:09pm CST by Sam Robinson

DeShawn Shead will be in uniform for the Seahawks when they play a do-or-die game against the Cowboys on Sunday.

The Seahawks are activating the cornerback from the PUP list, Field Yates of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). Shead tweeted he’d been given the go-ahead as well earlier today. Shead returned to practice recently after a lengthy recovery from knee surgeries.

Shead underwent a second operation on his left knee in July, delaying his return to action. As a result, he’s missed almost all of his sixth NFL season. He signed a one-year deal to stay in Seattle during the offseason. The injury against the Falcons in January damaged his stock, and not playing until Week 16 of this season — with a possibility this will be a two-game campaign for the 29-year-old Shead — won’t help garner him a long-term deal.

But Shead was Richard Sherman‘s starting mate throughout last season and will be a key component for secondary that’s missing Sherman and Kam Chancellor for this all-hands-on-deck contest. Shead made 90 tackles and deflected 14 passes in 2016. He also started six games in 2015.

The 8-6 Seahawks are in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2011 season, and winning out won’t be enough. They need help to secure another berth.

NFC Notes: 49ers, Eagles, Injuries

December 22nd, 2017 at 6:43pm CST by GregGoldstein

The 49ers have won every game that Jimmy Garoppolo has started this season. However, general manager John Lynch knows that the team’s priority this offseason must be to surround his new signal caller with better talent, reports Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk.

Smith relays quotes that the first-year decision maker made on FS1 today that expresses his decision to move forward with the plan of building around Garoppolo.

“It frees you up in the draft to go looking for other needs and build your team around him,” said Lynch.

At the moment, San Francisco seems to have found two solid play makers in Marquise Goodwin and rookie Trent Taylor. But with running back Carlos Hyde‘s future with the team uncertain being that he will become an unrestricted free agent, the team needs more guys that can help elevate Garoppolo’s game.

It’s certainly a team with a number of holes, but there’s undoubtedly newfound hope that the organization has found their next franchise quarterback given this late season run.

Here’s more notes from around the NFC:

While the Eagles have a number of assistant coaches that could be in-line for head coaching gigs after the conclusion of this season, the team’s Vice President of Player Personnel Joe Douglas has gone a bit under-the-radar in terms of garnering interest from general manager needy teams, opines Jeff McLane of The Inquirer. Douglas surprisingly wasn’t mentioned in the league’s annual list of prospective GM candidates. But despite not being named, owner Jeffrey Lurie has spoken highly of the number two football man in his front office. “The hiring of Joe Douglas, I thought, was the pivotal moment of the last year,” said Lurie. With Douglas’ guidance, the Eagles have made a number of quality football decisions that has led them to being on the verge of clinching home field advantage in the NFC. McLane does mention that while Douglas is highly-regarded in league circles, he’s still viewed as strictly a “football guy”, which isn’t the type of person that is now needed to lead an entire front office, according to McLane. Nevertheless, if the Eagles continue to dominant with Douglas partially at the helm, he definitely should start to become more sought after for a lead job in the years to come.
Despite the Cowboys getting Zeke back for the first time since Week 8, the team is still dealing with a number of injuries entering their season-defining Week 16 game against Seattle. Star left tackle Tyron Smith is currently dealing with back and knee injuries, but he will “give it a try” this Sunday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Defensive tackle David Irving has been officially ruled out for a third straight game because of a concussion as well, reports David Moore of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). Although, there is some good news on the injury front for the Cowboys as stud pass rusher Demarcus Lawrence practiced fully on Friday and is ready to go, per Todd Archer of ESPN.com.
The Seahawks are also dealing with a few critical injuries of their own prior to the Week 16 contest, even though the injury news seems to be a bit better on Seattle’s side. Head coach Pete Carroll said after practice that linebacker Bobby Wagner and strong safety Bradley McDougald are on track to play on Sunday, but the team would “wait-and-see” if cornerback DeShawn Shead would be activated from the PUP for this weekend’s matchup, reports Brady Henderson of ESPN.com.

DeShawn Shead Returns To Practice

December 7th, 2017 at 4:27pm CST by Sam Robinson

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.

Extra Points: Giants, Cowboys, Seahawks

December 5th, 2017 at 9:54pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Inside the NFL, former Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman is perceived as the most likely candidate to take over the same job with the Giants, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports. While that’s far from naming Gettleman as an official candidate for New York position, it’s a sign that the early link established between Gettleman and Big Blue wasn’t misconceived. Former Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi — whose New York career overlapped with Gettleman’s for a decade — is consulting the club on its GM hunt.

Here’s more from around the league:

Filling in the for the suspended Ezekiel Elliott, Cowboys running back Alfred Morris could now see an increased market next spring thanks to his production through four games as a starter, as Todd Archer of ESPN.com writes. Morris has certainly impressed — as Archer notes, Morris 307 yards in four contests would put him on pace for a 1,200+ yard campaign. However, Morris turns 29 years old next week, which will theoretically limit his market. A reunion between Morris and Dallas could make sense, opines Archer, as the Cowboys would be wise to protect themselves against another Elliott off-field incident/ban.
Before hiring Herm Edwards as their new head coach, Arizona State reached out to Ravens senior offensive assistant/tight ends coach Greg Roman, tweets Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com. Roman, who has previously served as an offensive coordinator for both the 49ers and Bills, doesn’t have any collegiate coaching experience and has no known ties to the Arizona area, but given that Edwards was their final choice, the Sun Devils clearly didn’t weight either of those factors heavily. Baltimore currently ranks 26th in offensive DVOA, but that’s certainly not an indictment on Roman, who has crafted excellent offensive schemes in his past stops.
If Pete Carroll‘s eternal optimism is to be believed, the Seahawks could soon witness the return of two key contributors, according to Brady Henderson of ESPN.com. Defensive back DeShawn Shead — currently on the physically unable to perform list — is “really close” to practicing, per Carroll, and may even participate this week. Meanwhile, running back Chris Carson is “unbelievably ahead of schedule” as he returns from a broken leg, Carroll tells Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (Twitter link), and he could also come back to practice in the next several weeks.
Shead’s return could help a secondary that’s already lost cornerback Richard Sherman and safety Kam Chancellor for the remainder of the season. Chancellor, though, hasn’t officially been placed on injured reserve yet, and that’s because of the Seahawks‘ dire salary cap situation, tweets Condotta. Seattle has only ~$165K in cap space, per Over the Cap, meaning it doesn’t have the money to pay a player who’d replace Chancellor on the 53-man roster. It’s almost inconceivable that the Seahawks will use a 52-man roster for the rest of the year, so the club will likely attempt to restructure a contract to create more space.

Seahawks Notes: Avril, Joeckel, Alexander

October 17th, 2017 at 8:43pm CST by Dallas Robinson

As he continues to deal with a neck injury, Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril has sought multiple medical opinions and is visiting another doctor today, tweets Mike Garafolo of NFL.com. Head coach Pete Carroll originally indicated Avril would be sidelined “awhile” with a stinger and numbness in his arm, but subsequent reports have expressed concern about the future of Avril’s career. While Seattle has the defensive line depth to withstand a Avril absence (Frank Clark, Marcus Smith), his absence will certainly be felt, and doubts about his ability to continue playing are certainly worrisome.

Here’s more from Seattle:

Left guard Luke Joeckel is expected to miss four-to-five weeks after undergoing knee surgery during the Seahawks’ bye week, reports Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (Twitter link). Joeckel, who signed a one-year, $8MM contract this spring, has played every snap at left guard for Seattle this season. Perhaps unsurprisingly given his track record with the Jaguars, Joeckel had struggled — along with the rest of the Seahawks’ offensive line — through five games, grading as the No. 44 guard among 75 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus. Mark Glowinski and rookie Ethan Pocic will now compete to replace Joeckel, per Condotta.
Free agent safety Maurice Alexander is visiting with the Seahawks this week, as Condotta writes in a full piece. Seattle should be relatively familiar with Alexander, as he’d spent the entirety of his four-year NFL career with the Rams. Alexander, who has also auditioned for the Jets and Cardinals since being waived last week, offers valuable experience (18 starts over the past season-plus), but he’d seemingly be overkill in Seattle. The Seahawks already boast two of the NFL’s best safeties in Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor, plus veteran Bradley McDougald and rookies Delano Hill and Tedric Thompson in reserve.
If recent history is any indication, Seahawks defenders Dion Jordan and DeShawn Shead likely won’t return to the field for three more weeks, opines Brady Henderson of ESPN.com. Both Jordan, a defensive end, and Shead, a cornerback, are allowed to resume practicing today, but neither player is ready to roll just yet. Once they are, Seattle will get a three-week window during which Jordan and/or Shead can be added to the 53-man roster. Jordan is currently on the non-football injury list, while Shead is on the physically unable to perform list. As Henderson notes, the Seahawks have typically given their players ample practice time before activating them.

Extra Points: Ravens, Kaepernick, Seahawks

August 1st, 2017 at 2:25pm CST by Zachary Links

After talk of the Ravens considering Colin Kaepernick and Robert Griffin III dominated the news cycle, coach John Harbaugh is trying to reel everything in.

“I would pay attention to every quarterback that isn’t signed,” Harbaugh said (via PFT). “They’re all options for us right now.”

For what it’s worth, RG3 has reportedly fallen off of the team’s radar after the team considered giving him a tryout. The possibility of adding Kaepernick, meanwhile, still looms large after the Ravens’ owner and team president both confirmed their interest in him. The Ravens are looking carefully at their backup quarterback situation in light of Joe Flacco’s back injury, but they’re also dealing with an increasingly dire situation at tight end.

While the Ravens scramble for answers on offense, here’s a look at the latest from around the NFL:

Seahawks cornerback DeShawn Shead recently had another knee cleanup surgery, as Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times tweets. That’s not necessarily bad news though as coach Pete Carroll says the procedure could accelerate his return. Shead is not expected to be ready for Week 1, but the team is hoping to have him back in action as soon as possible.
Seahawks rookie defensive lineman Malik McDowell is reporting to the team on Tuesday, but his status for the 2017 season is still up in the air, Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times writes. McDowell suffered head injuries in an ATV accident two weeks ago and he is dealing with a multitude of injuries as a result. The team will take a closer look at him this week to get a handle on his situation. The good news is that McDowell has said his injuries are not career- or life-threatening.
The Steelers are looking for depth at running back while Le’Veon Bell stays away from the team. On Tuesday morning, Pittsburgh auditioned former Louisville running back Brandon Radcliff, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).