Seahawks Should Avoid Bringing Back LeRoy Hill

The Seahawks may have a big need at Linebacker right now, but that doesn’t mean they should bring back weak side linebacker LeRoy Hill. This might not be a popular opinion, but it needs to be said and hopefully more fans will begin to realize that Hill is no longer the impact player he was in 2005.

Hill was the weakest link on a defense that needs to do better if it’s going to take the next step forward and become an elite defense. By all the advanced stats out there, Hill was one of the weakest players at his position in the NFL last season. He was only an average players against the run last season, and was dreadful on passing downs. I know I keep bring it up, but the Seahawks were 32nd in the league against backs on passing down, and it is primarily the responsibility of Hill’s weak side LB position.

The think is the Seahawks seemed to notice the problem during the season. Both Matt McCoy and David Vobora saw a fair amount of playing time at Hill’s expense before being injured and ending up on IR.

Hill’s fans seem to think that he could be brought back as depth and not to be the starter, but I don’t buy that argument. Hill has never shown any willingness to contribute on special teams, and hasn’t been effective on the occasions when he was asked to do so.

I also don’t think it’s a given that Hill would accept a backup roll. He’s the incumbent starter at a position that the Seahawks seem to  have a desperate hole to fill. Even if everyone says the right things when the microphones are on, that wont mean that Hill will believe it and accept a lesser roll. He strikes me as the type of player who ‘s effort would drop considerably in that situation.

And all of this is even before we get into the off-field problem. He’s had repeated run-ins with the law since joining the Seahawks back in 2005. Even before his arrest for drug possession after the season, I was against the Seahawks bringing back Hill just for football reasons.