Shead coming back to the Seahawks in time for the playoff push

Nope it, isn’t Santa Claus. He may not bring a bag of toys, but the Seahawks will be almost as happy to see DeShawn Shead arrive as the jolly fat man.

The Seahawks have had a few injury problems this season. Maybe you heard something about this. In the best news Seattle has received since they worked the trade for Duane Brown, cornerback DeShawn Shead practiced on Wednesday. Shead tore his ACL in the playoff game  with the Atlanta Falcons last season. It’s been a long road back, but he’s almost there.

Looks like Mr. Shead can just about stop counting, right? He had surgery two weeks after the injury, but needed a second procedure in July. That pushed his recovery back. But according to Shead, that second surgery was the key to his recovery. The Seattle Times Stephanie Loh reported this from Shead: ““They went in and cleaned it right up, and then it was like night and day. My motion was better than immediately after surgery.”

Loh reported Pete Carroll was, shall we say, thrilled at the news?

"“We’re really fired up about that. It’s been a long haul for him,” Carroll said. “Anytime, you’ve heard me talk about him I would tell you he’s ridiculously on it in terms of his rehab and his effort, and his preparation and all that.“I’m thrilled for him to come back to practice now and have a chance to get three weeks to show where he is and all that. And we’ll take a good look at it with our fingers crossed and high hopes he’ll be able to help us out.”"

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So when will he be back, and what does it mean for the Seahawks?

It’s highly unlikely Shead will be able to take the field in time to face the Jacksonville Jaguars this Sunday. For now, Byron Maxwell and Shaquill Griffin remain the starting corners. Shead will have his hands full beating out either man to get his job back. But based on his past performance, he can certainly do it.

In 2016, Pro Football Focus graded Shead at 76.2. That’s basically the same as Griffin (75.5) and Maxwell (74.5). Maxwell actually was graded at 84.7 in 2016 with the Dolphins, and 12s certainly remember the man can play. So Maxwell  could certainly improve, as could the rookie Griffin. That’s why I say it’s no sure thing that Shead will easily get his old job back.

As Carroll says, the motto is Always Compete. Whether Shead makes it back to the starting lineup or not doesn’t matter. Adding his experience will be huge for the Legion of Boom as Seattle makes their push for the playoffs. It’s an early Christmakwanzakah miracle!