Seahawks activate DeShawn Shead: Does it matter?

The Seahawks activated cornerback DeShawn Shead for the PUP list on Saturday. Prior to tearing his ACL in the playoffs last season, Shead was a very good number two corner. What does his return mean for the rest of this year?

The Seahawks now have a bunch of decent-to-good cornerbacks but no shutdown corner. Not until Richard Sherman returns in 2018. But the return of DeShawn Shead is good for at least one reason: 12s will get to see less of Jeremy Lane on the field.

But the real question about Shead’s return this late in the year is what difference will it make? This week against the Dallas Cowboys, Shead could make very little difference. Dallas wants to run the ball and Shead covers receivers. Honestly, Sherman was one of the few cornerbacks who could actually affect the opponent’s running game.

Unfortunately, Shead will not being doing these types of plays in Dallas. And while Shead can be a good cover corner, what Seattle really needs is for Bobby Wagner to duplicate or triplicate himself. This isn’t going to happen. Shead might have a bigger impact if he had returned against a team like the Green Bay Packers or like next week against the Arizona Cardinals.

Plus, it simply might be too late for Shead to make any impact this season. An Atlanta Falcons win on Sunday prior to the Seahawks-Cowboys game means neither Seattle nor Dallas will make the playoffs this year.

https://twitter.com/dshead24/status/944644392135958529

There is good news with Shead, though. Because he played fewer than six games this season under a one-year contract, he is obligated to return to Seattle next year. This may have been what John Schneider was thinking this past offseason when he offered a $1.2 million contract to a player who was unlikely to play much, if at all, in 2017. Schneider assumed Shead would be under contract for 2018.

And now we are talking about a big positive. Next year Shaquill Griffin will be better in his second season. Sherman will return. And Shead should be back. Those are three good corners to start a season with.

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Now if only Seattle can find a few more defensive linemen who can stop the run, 12s will be much happier.