Seahawks gain a running back with signing of Carlos Hyde
By Lee Vowell
The Seahawks needed a running back to back up Chris Carson. On Friday Seattle made a very good move by signing veteran Carlos Hyde.
The Seahawks need some running backs. Sure, they have Chris Carson. Seattle, in theory, also has Rashaad Penny, but Penny is likely to start the season on PUP. This means he will miss the first 6 games of 2020. Seattle also has a few young running backs, like Travis Homer. But Seattle needs a veteran presence and this is one reason Seattle signed Carlos Hyde on Friday.
Hyde is a good player. Sure, he will be 30 years old during the 2020 season, but in 2019 he ran for over 1,000 yards. In fact, Hyde was good for a career-high 1,070 yards and 6 touchdowns. He averaged 4.4 yards a carry which is what Carson had too.
Hyde is also a good size for a Pete Carroll back at 230 pounds. Hyde probably won’t catch many passes, so his versatility is going to be limited, but expect Hyde to spell Carson on first and second downs on several drives a game.
With a tandem of Hyde and Carson to start the season, that is very solid stuff. Then add Penny to the mix later in the year and Seattle shouldn’t run into the same issue as it did in 2019 when they simply ran out of running backs at the end of the season.
Any drawbacks for Seahawks signing Hyde?
Last month I wrote how Hyde would be a good fit for the Seahawks, so saying this is a bad move would be dumb. The drawback to the Seahawks signing Hyde is that it appears he is going to be paid up to $4 million for the 2020 season, including incentives. This is money not spent on the pass rusher that Seattle desperately needs.
New #Seahawks RB Carlos Hyde can earn up to $4M on his 1-year deal. A perfect landing spot after last year’s resurgence. https://t.co/Me2PB7Rj6j
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 22, 2020
This means Marshawn Lynch is unlikely to return too, though that was a long-shot anyway. Hyde is a better player than Lynch at this point, but Lynch is a positive influence on the team with his personality.
Next. 3 UDFAs that make Seahawks roster in 2020. dark
The obvious thing is that the Seahawks are loading up on offense this offseason with the signing of Hyde and Greg Olsen and bringing back faces like Luke Willson. If Seattle gets deep in the postseason in 2020, it will be because the offense outscored some teams. Either way, a Seahawks win is a Seahawks win and Hyde will help Seattle win.