Kasen Williams has a shot to be a major steal for the Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks struck gold when they signed wide receiver Doug Baldwin as an undrafted free agent back in 2011. It is still early in the process, but it looks like they may have done it again four years later.

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Wide receiver Kasen Williams was a major playmaker for the Washington Huskies in 2012 and in the early portions of 2013. Then a freak injury cost Williams the rest of the 2013 season and most of 2014. It nearly cost him a chance at a career as a football player.

Williams when up for a contested overthrown pass. When he came down, the defensive back landed on the back of his leg. The impact broke Williams’ leg. He also ended up with a complex factor in his foot called a Lisfranc fracture. Rehab from this injury is often at least a full year. For Williams though, leg injury also inhibited him from beginning his rehab as soon as he typically would have.

Williams struggled to work his way back into the rotation in 2014 as he continued to rebuild the strength in his leg. With almost no game tape for scouts to look at for two full seasons, Williams went undrafted.

Initially Williams agreed to sign as an undrafted free agent with the Cincinnati Bengals, but never signed his contract. The Bengals said he failed his physical, but Williams says he’s healthy and “it just wasn’t a good fit.”

Instead, he joined the Seahawks at the rookie minicamp for a tryout, and he made the most of that opportunity.

Williams now appears to finally be fully heathy and back to his 2012 form. While Tyler Lockett stood out among the receivers, Williams was easily the second-best pass catcher on the field all weekend. The Seahawks noticed, and will hopefully get Williams added to the roster in the next couple of days.

Pete Carroll had plenty of positive things to say about Williams when speaking to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times following the minicamp:

"“He looked very good,” Carroll said. “We’ve known him for a long time through the recruiting process and our expectations are that he is a really accomplished receiver. Great athlete getting off the ground and all and he showed all of that . He looked like he fit. So we’ll try to get him back.’’"

If Williams is truly back to his 2012 form, then the Seahawks will be signing a major talent to a tiny contract. When he was healthy, Williams was a taller, faster, and more athletic player than teammate (both with Washington and now Seattle) Jermaine Kearse. Williams also has considerably better hands.

It wouldn’t be out of the question for Williams to challenge for Kearse’s roster spot. Kearse just signed a one-year non-guaranteed contract for just over $2.3 million. If Williams can match Kearse’s production potential with a cap number under $500,000, then it becomes a no-brainer for the Seahawks to keep Williams over Kearse.

Ultimately, these are things that won’t be decided until the end of training camp. It is great for Williams that he is finally healthy and getting a chance to make it on an NFL roster. If he is as healthy and it seems, then he’ll end up being a major steal for Seahawks.

Next: The mirage of NFL contract extensions

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